1979: Last Dance-Lost In Music: Black Music's Unsung Banner Year Pt. 3

                  

                                       "Gotta let that groove loose/deep inside your soul"

                                                             ---Off The Wall (1979)

                               

                                                   IT TAKES TWO

When R&B duets found their way into music playlists back in '79 they were hugely successful. At the height of dance music's popularity, The slow-burn romanticism of Peaches and Herb's Reunited and Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright's With You I'm Born Again resonates with audiences.

                                                  THE BIG THREE

The emergence of Rick James, Prince and Michael Jackson represents a turning point in Black music. Where Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye's calling card was their studio genius, James, Prince and Jackson created a new kind of R&B superstar and backed it up with commercial success and larger than life personas.

 Drawing on his hippie acoustic/rock roots, Rick James aspires to liberate R&B from its buttoned-up choreographed identity and explore new creative frontiers. As rock sub-genres punk and new wave take over the airwaves, Slick Rick brashly labels his sound "punk-funk---a hypnotic blend of keyboards, drums, bass, brassy big band horns, drawing on jazz, rock, Carribbean  and classical influences. Inspired by idol Gaye's I Want You album, James secures Gaye engineer/producer Art Stewart. Their collaboration produces cinematic ballads with lush intros and blazing funk  giving his albums the feel of one long jam session.

James slyly cribs Fred Wesley, James Brown, Bob James and Parliament but the music bears his unmistakable stamp. Pulling in renowned jazz men men the Brecker Brothers and legendary session vocalists The Waters in the mix, there are many ingredients to James' musical gumbo but the recipe is all his. 

Straight out the Clinton conceptual playbook, James introduces the L 7 square--- the confining linear-thinking establishment he calls out on Bustin' Out: "We're bustin' out this L7 seven square/freaks like you and I could never funk on there". Songs littered with drug references walk the line between metaphorical and literal ("take a toke"and "I'm in love with Mary Jane").

One of the most underrated funk outfits,The Stone City Band are critical to the James' swagger. Glitter clad and rocking flamboyant clothing, their signature braids---inspired by Masai African warriors match their  music which is animated, loose and free. Stone City are the perfect foil for James self-indulgent preening (see Morris Day) and their background vocal chants match his booming operatic tenor line for line. When the band launches into intense funky breakdowns on songs like You and I, they transform studio sessions into a party-like atmosphere.

                                                                

Their intense musical chemistry is on full display as James goes on a creative tear. He introduces female protege/music prodigy Teena Marie to the world. He releases three albums in astonishing 18 months and sells three million records. His rapid ascension frustrates the competitive Gaye, prompting him injected a funkier approach in his future albums. 

                                                              

                                        

                                                        

James' outrageous onstage garb also informs the attire of first generation rappers and a young comedian with a penchant for tight leather outfits. As Rick is standing on the top, his career intersects with a younger contemporary who will eventually surpass him in popularity and establish the Twin Cities as musical force to reckon with.

                                        

                                     

                                                   

Still in his teens when he signs with Warner Brothers, Prince shakes off suggestions that he join EWF front man Maurice White's fold and enlist him to produce his debut album. Prince declines and cannily secures White's top flight management team instead.                         

Negotiating a recording contract giving him full control of his music, Prince plays all the instruments on his albums and steers his music from away from conventional R&B. Songs like I Wanna Be Your Lover and When You Were Mine feature none of the Jacksons' pristine poly-rhythms or Leon Sylvers' glossy grooves. Although Sly Stone and James Brown are primary influences, Prince deconstructs their formulas moving guitar and synth sounds up front and center giving his songs a spare funkiness that compliment his overtly sexual image.

 His falsetto (shout out Ron Isley)---missing in action since the decline of mid- '70s stand up vocal groups is worlds away from the genteel delivery of Stylistics/Blue Magic leads Russell Thompkins and Ted Mills. With the release of each album, Prince's cult following grows and he eventually carves out his own niche away from the shadow of Rick James.

                                                  

Although Destiny is a success, Michael Jackson has aspirations of a career away from the family franchise. Like Prince, he also passes over White in favor of producer Quincy Jones. Considering that label mate White was R&B's hottest producer at the time, Jackson's choice was unpopular with CBS. Jones' productions were atypical of the R&B of the moment. It had jazzy arrangements with a clean and polished sound. Enlisting his network of engineers, songwriters and session musicians to collaborate with Jackson, the fertile recording sessions bear fruit and Off The Wall is born.

The record is a success and spins off multiple singles. It puts the industry on notice to what the R&B world already knew: Jackson was more than just the dynamic lead singer of a hit family act. His star power is undeniable. James and Prince were charismatic showmen but their appeal was partially attributed to their impressive musicianship.

Jackson moves beyond the status quo and elevates the performing element to the same heights as the blazing guitar solo or the funky bassline --- gold standards in pop music. His lithe frame punctuates the songs like a drum. The controlled spins add intensity to the material. His tuxedo perfectly epitomizes the glossy sheen of Jones' productions. Jackson doesn't just sing the songs, he narrates and revels in the excitement the tracks generate. 

Having written his very first songs only four years prior---MJ's pen game grows by leaps and bounds by the time he drafts Don't Stop Til You Get Enough. Album follow up singles Rock With You, Off The Wall and She's Out Of My Life give Jackson the distinction of being the first artist to place four singles inside the Billboard 100. 

Off The Wall is considered R&B's first modern post-soul album. The massive sales of the record clearly makes it a pop success. By 1979/pre-Sound Scan standards R&B commercial successes are not promoted as pop breakthroughs as they would in later years. Jackson would have to wait for that. Greater success is just around the corner for the trio but for one moment in time the Big Three shared the same marquee as seminal figures in Black music.

                                                                 UP NEXT: PT4
                              STREETS ARE TALKING AND POST-79:A MUSIC EPILOGUE