Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Afrika Bambaataa's Favorite Breaks



This list was published in the British magazine Blues and Soul in the year 1988. Here, he lists his favorite break beats and jams that can get a dance floor pumpin. I wanted to add this because I could not believe how similar this list is to my own. Amazing. If you don't have most of these songs, I suggest you pick them up ASAP. This list is published in the book Ego Trip's book of rap lists.



1. "Apache" - Incredible Bong Band (Pride, 1973)
-the break from this song is used in the Sugar Hill Gang tune "Jump On It."
2. "Jam on the Groove" - Ralph MacDonald (Tk, 1976)
3. "Theme From Star Wars" - Dave Matthews (CTI, 1977)
4. "Catch A Groove" - Juice (Greedy, 1976)
5. "Reach Out in the Darkness" - Friend and Lover (Verve, 1968)
6. "Minimum Wage" - Rock and Roll**
7. "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose" - James Brown (King, 1969)
8. "Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine" - James Brown (King, 1969)
9. "Sing a Simple Song" - Sly & The Family Stone (Epic, 1969)
10. "You're The One" - Little Sister (Stoneflower, 1970)
11. "It's Just Begun" - Jimmy Castor Bunch (RCA, 1972)
12. "Dance to the Drummer's Beat" - Human Kelly & Life (TK, 1976)
13. "Scorpio" - Dennis Coffey (Sussex, 1971)
14. "Ride Sally Ride" - Dennis Coffey (Sussex, 1972)
15. "Son of Scorpio" - Dennis Coffey (Sussex, 1972)
16. Willie Dynamite Soundtrack - J.J. Johnson and Various Artists (MCA, 1974)
17. "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" - Bob James (CTI, 1976)
18. "Let a Woman be a Woman (Let a Man be a Man)" - Dyke & The Blazers (Original Sound 1969)
19. "Funky Broadway" - Dyke & The Blazers (Original, 1967)
20. "The Champ" - The Mohawks (Cotillion, 1968)
21. "Tramp" - Otis Redding and Carla Thomas (Stax, 1967)
22. "Groove to Get Down" - T-Connection (TK, 1977)
23. "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" - Funkadelic (Westbound, 1975)
-this is the anthem of the Rare Grooves Society-
24. "Give the Drummer Some" - Little Milton**
25. "Get on the Good Foot" - James Brown (Polydor, 1972)
26. "Funky Drummer" - James Brown (King, 1970)
-the funky drummer on this track is Madison's very own Clyde Stubblefield-
27. "Keep on Doin' What You're Doin'" - Bobby Byrd (Brownstone, 1971)
28. "I Know You Got Soul" - Bobby Byrd (King, 1971)
29. "Think (About It)" - Lyn Collins (People, 1972)
30. "It's My Thing" - Marva Whitney (King, 1969)
31. "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" - James Brown (King, 1970)
32. "Honkey Tonk Women" - The Rolling Stones (London, 1969)
33. "Hot Stuff" - Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones, 1976)
34. "Dance to the Music" - Sly & The Family Stone (Epic, 1968)
35. "Family Affair" - Sly & The Family Stone (Epic, 1971)
36. "Jam" - Grand Central Station (Warner Bros., 1975)
37. "Joyous" - Pleasure (Fantasy, 1976)
38. "Rock Creek Park" - The Blackbyrds (Fantasy, 1976)
39. "Happy Music" - The Blackbyrds (Fantasy, 1975)
40. "Africano" - Earth, Wind, & Fire (Columbia, 1975)
41. "Shining Star" - Earth, Wind, & Fire (Columbia, 1975)
42. "Power" - Earth, Wind, & Fire (Columbia, 1972)
43. "Ring My Bell" - Anita Ward (TK, 1979)
44. "The Funk Is On" - Instant Funk (Salsoul, 1980)
45. "Funky Stuff" - Kool & The Gang (De-Lite, 1973)
46. "Jungle Boogie" - Kool & The Gang (De-Lite, 1973)
47. "Flashlight" - Parliament (Casablanca, 1977)
48. "More Bounce to the Ounce" - Zapp (Warner Bros., 1980)
49. "Dancin' Kid" - Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes (Chelsea, 1976)
50. "The Breakdown" - Rufus Thomas (Stax, 1972)
51. "Do The Funky Penguin" - Rufus Thomas (Stax, 1972)
52. "Shakara" - Fela Ransom Kuti (Editions, Makossa, 1974)
53. "Brother Green (The Disco King)" - Roy Ayers Ubiquity (Polydor, 1975)
54. "Lonsome Cowboy" - Roy Ayers Ubiquity (Polydor, 1976)
55. "Yellow Sunshine" - Yellow Sunshine (Gamble, 1973)

It should be noted that these tracks are in no particular order. It is also interesting to note the prevalence of things related to James Brown (Bobby Byrd, Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins, etc.), and Miami soul (aka TK Records). The songs with "**" next to it are off of records that either do not exist or are so rare that Afrika Bambaataa is the only person who owns them. If any of you happen to stumble upon any of these recordings, please contact me immediately. That would be sweet.

1 comment:

cjm said...

Thanks, I remember seeing this list in a book once and had never seen it again. I was always trying to remember what songs were on it. Thank you for making it available on-line.