JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belated celebrates the 86th anniversary of the birth of Syl Johnson.
Category: 1960s
Throwback: Happy 77th Birthday, Debbie Harry!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Debbie Harry’s 77th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 80th Birthday, Curtis Mayfield!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 80th anniversary of Curtis Mayfield’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 96th Birthday, Miles Davis!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates the 96th anniversary of Miles Davis’ birth.
Throwback: Happy 74th Birthday, Stevie Nicks!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Stevie Nicks’ 74th birthday.
Throwback: R.I.P. Alan White
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of Yes’ Alan White.
Throwback: Happy 72nd Birthday, Stevie Wonder!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Stevie Wonder’s 72nd birthday.
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 75th Birthday, Iggy Pop!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Iggy Pop’s 75th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 76th birthday, Al Green!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Al Green’s 76th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 82nd Birthday, Herbie Hancock!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Herbie Hancock’s 82nd birthday.
Throwback: Happy 75th Birthday, Florian Schneider!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 75h anniversary of the birth of Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider.
Throwback: Happy 73rd Birthday, Gil Scott-Heron!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms (belatedly) celebrates the 73rd anniversary of Gil Scott-Heron’s birth.
