Shirley & Company ~ Shame Shame Shame 1975 Disco Purrfection Version

This was an instant hit! Who didn't like this song right off? Even Mick Jagger was all over this one, word had it he was considering adding to the concert repertoire. While that never happened, he did write a song with Keith Richards called "Hot Stuff" that used this song as inspiration. Disco was coming unto itself, judging by the wild assortment of sounds that were popular in the clubs and on radio. That incessantly tribal 4/4 beat married with the sound of sunshine! At the same time on the disco charts were Carol Douglas ~ Doctor's Orders, Barry White ~ You're The First, The Last, My Everything, Fire ~ Ohio Players....all were being played in the clubs, but the music was distilling into what are disco hallmarks, the open hi hat between the kick drum beats and that sonorous bassline that made you shake your booty...no strings on this one though, the real last qualifier for classic disco. The garage band feel, rough and tough and the screaming vocals turned this song into a pop disco classic. All of this courtesy of Sylvia "Pillow Talk" Robinson, a writer, singer, producer...a pillar of a woman who was about to thrust hip hop on an unsuspecting public with her signing of the Sugarhill Gang doing Rapper's Delight. Back in 1957 Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" hit the pop charts and came to the attention of the public again when the song was used in a very memorable sequence in "Dirty Dancing". So you see, Sylvia is a driven woman. She and her husband set up Vibration Records as an outlet for the talent they signed. There had to be magic afoot when this one was written, I mean, Sylvia sure had her finger on the pulse of America at the time. She gave the song to Shirley Goodman, another 50's survivor who recorded as one half of Shirley & Lee with the classic "Let The Good Times Roll" and had split up in 1963. Sylvia though Shirley could do better and brought "Shame Shame Shame" to her. The original line up of that band was: Jesus Alvarez, Walter Morris, Bernadette Randle, Seldon Powell, Jonathan Williams and Clarence Oliver. That magic voice that answers Shirley's is Jesus Alvarez, a singer songwriter, who had just recently joined Vibration. The song, already had a history in that Donnie Elbert, who had worked with Clarence Oliver and Walter Morris to put down the instrumental track for "Shame". Donnie moved on to other projects and while in England recorded "You're Gonna Cry When I'm Gone" a shamefully similar song in 1975. Since Donnie was an integral part of creating the sound of the "Shame", instead of Vibration suing him for copyrights, they bought out his master and everyone lived happily ever after. This was giving everyone a truly fair shake. If you look at the cover of the LP, there is definitely some socio-political statement being made to then President Richard Nixon, who had fallen from grace. The artwork of "Shame Shame Shame" was not the only song to register displeasure of the errant President, Stevie Wonder had hit #1 with "You Haven't Done Nothing". Shame on you! (if you can't dance too)

Видео Shirley & Company ~ Shame Shame Shame 1975 Disco Purrfection Version канала DJDiscoCat