Team TB, Sending funky Sunday wishes from the blustery shores of Lake Ontario and the campus of SUNY Oswego. I'm lucky enough to be back in school finishing my degree and am writing a paper about Rick James and the significance of his impact on a wide variety of genres and also as an ambassador/innovator of punk-funk culture. Are there any OGs out there that care to share any stories of Rick or the impact of his art?
No first-hand anecdotes, but just an observation regarding his impact: I was a junior or senior in high school when "Super Freak" first came out, and there was a period of what seemed like several months when you could turn on the TV any time of day or night and stand a good chance of seeing Rick performing that tune. Remember, this was pre-MTV, pre-cable TV, so we're just talking about 3 or 4 over-the-air network channels...but he was on all the daytime talk shows (Mike Douglas, Dick Cavett), all the nighttime talk shows (Johnny Carson, and, um, er...wow, how times have changed!), all the late night concert shows (Don Kirschner's Rock Concert, Midnight Special)...I remember one New Year's Eve he was on two or three TV channels simultaneously playing "Super Freak"! So yeah, he was -- among other things -- pervasive.
outstanding! a big part of what i'm writing about is how "Street Songs" was the apex of his creativity and is regarded as an album akin to "Talking Book" or "What's Going On?" in terms of its social commentary and commercial success. Many rappers regards this album as a huge early influence- almost a prelude to "gangsta rap" Thank you!
Remember when he and Linda Blair got in trouble for burning that hooker with a hot crack pipe? Ahh, crack. Is there anyone you can't create a psychosis in?
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