Local Chicago Music
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In My Body’s House – Gene Chandler (1969)
Here’s a tasty slice of funk from the Duke of Earl himself, Gene Chandler. Masterfully dapper, ever-so-smooth, Chandler gets funky on this Checker side from 1969. An early version of the Curtis Mayfield-penned track titled “Hard Times”, the record manifests a ‘creature feature’ vibe that’s fits this time of year like a rubber mask. An alumnus of…
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Dancing Girl – Terry Callier. Windy City Mellow.
I remember where I was when I first heard this: the local round-the-way record store. The carpet was checkered with the maytag logo in bittersweet on brown (harkening back to the store’s past life). There we stood in a communal experience that began with the shop owner saying, “You’ve got to hear this record”. We…
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Universal Mind Control: Common Double Vision
9image, Common at Army & Lou’s (75th & King Drive, Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood) Here’s the recently released alternate version of the video for Chicago-bred Common’s “Universal Mind Control”. Directed by Lil X, it was shelved in favor of Hype Williams’ robo-love version. Jive on. more about “Universal Mind Control: Common…
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Summertime and Billy Stewart: Fruitful and Fleeting
Summer has left our once-warm grasp. In memorium, Darkjive presents Chess Records’ Billy Stewart with a 1966 version of the classic song “Summertime” (from Porgy and Bess). I love how Billy Stewart’s scats interplay with insistent horns and halting guitar licks. The drummer on the cut is a very young Maurice White (of Earth, Wind, and Fire). Originally from…
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Baby Be Mine: Johnny Williams’ Record Row Gold
Above, enjoy DuSable High School’s own Johnny Williams with Baby Be Mine, a classically Chicago-styled mid-tempo shuffler. A delicious record, it was recorded at Brunswick Records here in Chicago (1449 South Michigan Avenue, to be exact) for their Subsidiary label, Bashie. Get a whif of those cheering flutes on the tail end. A beast. Pictured…
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Messing With the Kid
After Eighty Years, Kiddieland of Melrose Park closes to the public this weekend. A rift between two branches of one extended family tore beyond repair, resulting in the closing (one branch owns the park, while one owns the land the park is built on [and didn’t extend the park’s lease]). Many of the rides were…
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45 or Die: Move. Groove. Jive on.
Catch Gaucho, Harlow, and myself spinning classics and rarities at 45 revolutions per minute. Thursday, October 8th at the Morseland, 1218 West Morse, Chicago. Starts at 9pm.
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Tapes Lost to Time: Chicago Stories
I am bothered by tapes that disappear, the same tapes that record our collective story. The sort that get erroneously misplaced, taped over, or buried (true stories, all). It’s happened often in Chicago to bits of media that palpably documented Chicago Cultural History. It seems to have happened too many times for my taste. Here’s a…
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Billy Butler: Brotherly Soul
From Jerry Butler’s little brother, Billy, it’s “I’ll Bet You”. Jerry Butler, of course, was a member of the Impressions (as well as one of the most successful solo acts in Chicago Soul history). Billy never quite made it out from the shadow of his superstar brother, but he made a few valiant efforts: among them, “Right Track”, and…
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Natural Four: Soul, if only for a moment
By way of the Bay Area, it’s Chicago’s own Natural Four. They signed to Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom Records in 1972, after five years without a hit, and within a year they gave us this blue light basement classic: “Can This Be Real.” Inexplicably, the Natural Four never reached the success they deserved, dissolving in 1976. Robert…
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