Michael Jackson, "Get on the Floor": Well, since we're talking about the King of Pop, I may as well throw in one of his songs. But let's forgo the classic hits and pick an album cut from 1979's Off the Wall, a much better dance record than 1982's celebrated Thriller. "Get on the Floor" is propulsive and utterly joyful. Midway through the song, slightly off mic, you can hear a giddy Jackson laugh. This is probably one of his most overlooked tracks from the era.
Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, "It Takes Two": We must have hip-hop somewhere in the mix. But I figure I should go with a timeless cut, and rap doesn't get as transcendent as this platinum-selling 1988 smash. This track greatly expanded the possibilities of sampling in hip-hop. Built on the 1972 Lyn Collins' classic "Think (About It)," the rap completely reconstructs elements of the song (the bass line, the female vocal) and turns it into something sonically fresh and hard-hitting. You add Base's insistent, endless rhyming to it and - shazam! - you have classic hip-hop. Ah, the good old days before so much of mainstream rap became one depressing minstrel show.
Al Green, "Love and Happiness": This 1972 evergreen is sure to solicit shouts after the twangy opening guitar riff. And as soon as the beat kicks in, you better believe everybody will be up and grooving and singing along. This is my family's all-time favorite cut to play at gatherings. It was during this song that my grandmother Mama Teacake (may she rest in peace) used to show us grandkids how to do her "famous belly roll." As she got down, rolling her hips and snapping her fingers, we all shook our heads in shame.
ZZ Hill, "Cheatin' in the Next Room": My East Coast friends know nothing about this silken blues ballad. But for those of us raised in black neighborhoods in the deep South during the 1980s, this cut was widely played on adult stations and in corner juke joints. It's taken from Hill's 1982 masterpiece Down Home Blues. The LP, long available on CD, is one of the biggest sellers for Malaco, the Mississippi-based indie label. This is one of the last songs played at the barbecue, after the sun melts away and everyone's full. Somebody opens a bottle of good cognac, and the adults kick back, eyes closed and heads nodding to this mellow tale of love gone bad.
rashod.ollison@baltsun.com
