THE T.K. RECORDS STORY VOLUME 1.
THE T.K. RECORDS STORY VOLUME 1.
Throughout his life, Henry Stone has been immersed in music. Indeed, ever since he was discharged from the US army in 1947, Henry Stone’s life has revolved around music. His career started in sales and distribution, at Modern and Jewel Records in 1948. After that, he moved to Miami, where he ran his own distribution company, worked as a producer, run his own publishing company and founded record labels,. Undoubtably, Henry Stone’s most successful record company was Miami based T.K. Records. It was one of many labels Henry founded during the sixties and seventies. T.K. Records enjoyed commercial success with K.C. and The Sunshine Band, George McCrae. Through subsidiary companies like Glades and Alston, Henry Stone released hit singles by Timmy Thomas and Betty Wright. However, there’s much more to T.K. Records and its subsidiary companies than this quartet of artists, as The T.K. Records Story Volume 1 demonstrates. The T.K. Records Story Volume 1, which was released by Gold Legion Records on 26th February 2013, features twelve tracks from an eclectic selection of artists. This includes T-Connection, Funk Machine, Foxy, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Midnight Flite and Gregg Diamond. These twelve tracks are a combination of original album versions and 12” mixes. For anyone who thinks T.K. Records back-catalogue starts with K.C. and The Sunshine Band and finishes with George McCrae, then The T.K. Records Story Volume 1 will prove something of a musical eyeopener. You’ll understand what I mean when I tell you about The T.K. Records Story.
Opening The T.K. Records Story Volume 1 is T-Connection’s Do What You Wanna Do. T-Connection were from Nassau, in the Bahamas, who released four albums for T.K. Records and their associated imprints. Do What You Wanna Do was released as a single in 1977 on T.K. Records’ Dash imprint. This was a track from their sophomore album Magic and epitomizes T-Connection’s unique, trademark fusion of funky disco.
Funk Machine only released one single for Drive Records. This was Funk Machine, which was released in 1977. Like T-Connection’s Do What You Wanna Do, it was produced by Cory Wade and Alex Sadkin. The version included on The T.K. Records Story is the eight-minute 12” version. It’s a hook-laden, hidden gem where funk, disco and urgent soulful harmonies unite seamlessly and are a welcome reminder of disco’s glory days.
Rocky Mizell and Sugar Rock Band released their debut single Hey Sexy Dancer on Drive Records in 1976. A year later, in 1977, they released their debut album Rocky Mizell and Sugar Rock Band. Hey Sexy Dancer was produced by Willie Clarke, who cowrote the track with Rocky Mizell. From the opening bars, the track has the T.K. Records’ Miami sound. With its combination of funk and disco, it seems K.C. and The Sunshine Band and George McCrae have influenced Rocky Mizell and Sugar Rock Band. Although it would be easy to describe this track as derivative, given its obvious inspiration, it’s one of these tracks that’s hard to resist.
After K.C. and The Sunshine Band relinquished their position as house-band at T.K. Records, Foxy were chosen as their replacement. Their best known single is Get Off, which was released as a single in 1978. This was a track from their sophomore album Get Off. Get Off is a real fusion of musical genres and influences. Everything from funk, disco, soul and Latin influences is added to Foxy’s musical melting por. Unlike other tracks on The T.K. Records Story, Get Off hasn’t aged as well. With its synths, vocoders and nascent technology, it fails to match the previous tracks for quality and is something of a disappointment.
Herman Kelly and Life released Dance To The Drummer’s Beat in 1978, on Electric Cat. This is a track from Herman Kelly and Life’s 1978 album Percussion Explosion. Straight away, you realize something special is unfolding. Stabs of keyboards and a myriad of percussion combine before blazing horns enter. When urgent, punchy harmonies join the fray, Herman Kelly and Life have locked into the tightest of grooves, where jazz, funk, soul and Latin percussion play their part in one of the highlights of The T.K. Records Story. Quite simply, this is a delicious Percussion Explosion.
By the time Tony Middleton released Lady Fingers on T.K. Disco, he’d enjoyed a varied career. Although he’d released numerous singles and demos as a solo artist and been a member of The Five Willows during the early fifties. Success however, had eluded him. Then in 1976, twenty-five years after his career began, and at the height of disco’s popularity, Tony tried to reinvent himself as a disco star. While Tony’s reinvention as a disco artist failed to revive his career, it’s shows a different side to him and his music.
When Dr. Lonnie Smith released Funk Reaction on T.K. Records in 1977, he’d enjoyed a long and successful career as a pianist and Hammond organist. His recording career began in the mid-sixties, when he’d been signed to Columbia and then Blue Note Records. Then in 1977, Lonnie released Funk Reaction, an irresistible fusion of funk and soul that’s one of the compilation’s highlights. It also demonstrates just how eclectic the music on The T.K. Records Story is.
Wildflower released a trio of singles for T.K. Records and its various subsidiaries. Their second single was Harlem Nocturne, which released in 1977, on T.K. Disco. It’s a fusion of hypnotic funk and good time disco. From the opening bars, it doesn’t quite grab your attention. It takes time before the track reveals its secrets.Although it’s a good track, it doesn’t quite match the quality of the other tracks on The T.K. Records Story.
Midnite Flite are another group who only released one single for T.K. Disco. This was Don’t Turn Away, released in 1977. After something of a curveball, cooing harmonies, handclaps and the rhythm section get this funky slice of disco on track. There’s everything you could want from a disco track, including a a great vocal and harmonies, lush strings, blazing horns and a generous helping of funk. The result is a memorable and timeless slice of disco, that’s a true hidden gem.
Peter Brown’s Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me is a dramatic, sensual slice of funk that was released in 1978. It was a single released from Peter’s 1978 album A Fantasy Love Affair. Here, everything from funk, jazz, disco, P-funk and soul are woven together by Peter. The result is a sassy, feisty and sensual funky track, that thirty-five years later, has stood the test of time.
Joe Thomas released Plato’s Retreat as a single in 1978. It was a track from Joe’s 1978 album Get In The Wind, which was produced by Sonny Lester and released on the Lester Radio Corporation label. Straight away, you realise something really special is unfolding.What’s unfolding is a track that epitomizes everything that’s good about disco. This includes everything from the vocal, the strings, horns and Sonny Lester’s production. Seamlessly, they play their part in this peerless slice of seventies disco.
Closing The T.K Records Story Volume 1 is Gregg Diamond’s Star Cruiser, which was released as a single in 1978. Star Cruiser was also the title of his 1978 album, which was released on Marlin Records. By 1978, Gregg had established a reputation as an innovative and influential artist and producer. He’d enjoyed commercial success with Bionic Boogie, and Star Cruiser demonstrates just how talented an artist he was. Quite simply, this track surpasses anything else on The T.K. Records Story. It’s best described as a soulful, funky and irresistible slice of disco.
What I like about The T.K Records Story Volume 1, is that the compiler has eschewed the well known tracks T.K. Records and their various subsidiary companies released. So, this means no George McCrae, K.C. and The Sunshine Band, Timmy Thomas or Betty Wright. That’s no bad thing. Most people will already be familiar with these tracks. It also shows that there’s much more to T.K. Records than a handful of artists. This allows people to discover the delights of Midnite Flite, Peter Brown and Joe Thomas. Then there’s tracks by veteran jazzer Dr. Lonnie Smith and Gregg Diamond, the innovative disco artist and producer. Of the twelve tracks on The T.K Records Story Volume 1, only two tracks disappoint. These are Foxy’s Get Off and Wildflower’s Harlem Nocturne. The remainder of the tracks on The T.K Records Story Volume 1 are quality all the way. My only criticism is that the twelve tracks on The T.K Records Story Volume 1 just scratch the surface of T.K. Records’ back-catalogue. Like The Salsoul Records Story and The West End Records Story, The T.K Records Story Volume 1 could’ve been a double or triple album. That would’ve done justice to T.K. Records’ illustrious and eclectic back-catalogue. However, The T.K Records Story, which was released by Gold Legion Records on 26th February 2013, is the perfecting starting point in a voyage of discover through T.K. Records eclectic and illustrious back-catalogue. Standout Tracks: Funk Machine Funk Machine,Dr. Lonnie SmithFunk Reaction, Midnite Flite Don’t Turn Away and Gregg Diamond Star Cruiser.
THE T.K. RECORDS STORY VOLUME 1.
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