JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 80th anniversary of Curtis Mayfield’s birth.
Category: 1950s
Throwback: Happy 96th Birthday, Miles Davis!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates the 96th anniversary of Miles Davis’ birth.
Throwback: Happy 89th Birthday, Willie Nelson!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Willie Nelson’s 89th birthday.
Back in 2013, Red Bull Music Academy invited the legendary electronic music artist ad producer Giorgio Moroder to speak in front of a small group of music students about music, his creative process and more — and to what was then-billed as his first ever live DJ set at the now-defunct Williamsburg, Brooklyn nightclub Output.
Along with his long-time collaborator and musical director Chris Cox, the electronic music legend played a 75 minute set of re-arranged and exclusive remixes of some of his massive hits, medleys of other big songs, an exclusive song commissioned by Google — and famously, his collaboration with Daft Punk, “Giorgio by Moroder,” which appeared on the French electronic outfit’s last album, Random Access Memories.
Moroder’s DJ set is an encompassing and thoughtful primer on his pioneering work and sound, as well as roughly 50 years of disco and electronic music. Importantly, the set is a bold and swaggering reminder that along with Kraftwerk and a handful of others, Moroder is part of a Mount Rushmore of electronic music, who helped create an enduring “sound of the future” while popularizing the use of synthesizers in just about anything and everything since.
Personally, Moroder’s Red Bull Music Academy set brings back fond and very dear memories during the most formative periods of my life: I can vividly picture myself as a small boy and watching my mother cleaning and singing along — incredibly off key, I should add! — to Donna Summer‘s “Bad Girls,” “I Feel Love” “Hot Stuff,’ and “Love to Love You, Baby” as though it were yesterday.
Moroder turns 82 today and we should give the legendary man, his flowers because his work is that important — for all of us. Happy birthday, Giorgio! May there many, many more!
Throwback: Happy 105th Birthday, Ella Fitzgerald!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 105th anniversary of Ella Fitzgerald’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 76th birthday, Al Green!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Al Green’s 76th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 109th Birthday, Muddy Waters!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 109th anniversary of Muddy Waters’ birth.
Throwback: Happy 83rd Birthday, Marvin Gaye!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 83rd anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 78th Birthday, Diana Ross!
JOVM celebrates Diana Ross’ 78th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 80th Birthday, Aretha Franklin!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 80th anniversary of Aretha Franlkin’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 78th Birthday, Roger Daltrey!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Roger Daltrey’s 78th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 76th Birthday, Dolly Parton!
JOVM celebrates Dolly Parton’s 76th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 81st Birthday, David Ruffin!
JOVM celebrates the 81st anniversary of David Ruffin’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 83rd Birthday, Allen Toussaint!
JOVM celebrates Allen Toussaint on what would have been his 83rd birthday.
Throwback: R.I.P. Ronnie Spector
JOVM celebrates the music of Ronnie Spector.
