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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Chaka Khan

  • Friday Throwback – I Feel For You

    When I was growing up, I thought that Chaka Khan was like this B-girl who made music that people liked to break dance to. Little did I know that she was historically one of the greatest female soul singers of all time, and originally in the group Rufus. Why did I think that? Because of this song.

    Chaka-chaka-chaka-khan.

    Chaka-chaka-chaka-khan.

    • I thought Turbo and Ozone were supposed to be in every Chaka Khan video.
    • I feel for you Chaka … I think I love you too Chaka.
    • That white dude was gettin’ down.
    • I’ve always wondered why she stood next to a half gated fence throughout.
    • I saw just a tiny bit of the Re-Run dance. Word to Fred Berry. RIP.
    • Did they just moonwalk off that ramp?
    • I like the scarves deal, but Turbo has to dance with a broom again.
    • I always liked it when Fingertips Part 2 all of a sudden came out of nowhere in this song.
    • How many takes until Chaka got the scratchin’ part right?
    • Turbo should’ve been a bigger star than he was.

    I believe Prince wrote this, and I’ve heard that Stevie actually played on this record, but I’m not sure. I think I also heard that Grandmaster Melle Mel was on the record as well (I’m not hip hop enough to know what he even looks like, sad to say). Mike, you need to help me out here.

    She actually has a new album out called Funk This.

  • The Sunday Shuffle is Back: Still Here

    So I finally did the smart thing and bought an external hard drive to store my music, figuring that keeping 70MB of music on a laptop’s hard drive probably wasn’t a good idea. Hopefully, this one doesn’t poop out on me the way my previous one did, after only five months. Damn you, Windows Vista!!

    I was gonna let the new “Genius” feature on iTunes take over for me, but I’ll save that for another time, plus we’ll have a feature on Genius at some point this week. No point in doubling up, right?

    Anyway, we’re off:

    Track 1: “Fast Car (Fugee Remix)”-Wyclef Jean feat. Lupe Fiasco

    Wyclef Jean’s “Carnival II” will surprise the few of you who’ve actually stuck with ‘Clef’s last few (phenomenally shitty) albums. On the album, this song is a moody piece with vocals by Paul Simon (yes, THAT Paul Simon). On this remix, Wyclef gets a quick verse from rap phenom Lupe Fiasco and also takes it back to ’96 by virtue of the Tribe Called Quest “Bonita Applebum” sample, which broke Wyclef’s old band (The Fugees, ‘memba them?) worldwide via its’ use on their version of “Killing Me Softly”. This remix is decent, the album version is better.

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  • Infatueighties:#88: Higher Love

    The 12" single for Steve Winwood's 1986 hit "Higher Love".
    The 12

    There’s not a whole lot of songs out there that you can recognize by the opening drumbeat. However, you know “Higher Love” is playing the second you hear John Robinson’s virtuoso solo. Robinson was the former drummer for Rufus, and he also played on Michael Jackson’s “Rock with You”, so the man obviously knows how to open a song.

    Speaking of Rufus, this song gets some extra flavor enhancement from the one and only Chaka Khan. The diva sings background vocals and delivers a sassy vamp at the end (“braaaaaang me a higher love!”). The song’s good without her, great with her.

    Then there’s Steve Winwood himself. Already a twenty-year music veteran, this song broke Winwood’s solo career wide open, becoming the first of his two #1 hits. Winwood’s high pitched, soulful wail sounds positively joyful on this song. This was one of several songs (Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie” immediately comes to minds) that were hits in the Eighties and had strong spiritual (if not overtly religious) overtones.

    In February 1987, “Higher Love” took home the Grammy for Record of the Year, becoming one of the few even remotely decent songs to take home that prize during the decade. Here’s a quick run through Grammy’s “Record(s) of the Year”

    1980: “Sailing” by Christopher Cross
    1981: “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes
    1982: “Rosanna” by Toto
    1983: “Beat It” by Michael Jackson
    1984: “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” by Tina Turner
    1985: “We Are the World” by USA for Africa
    1986: “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood
    1987: “Graceland” by Paul Simon
    1988: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin
    1989: “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler

    Only one other song from this list appears on my countdown. Take a stab at who it might be.