Category: jheri curl june

  • Jheri Curl June: Meli’sa Morgan’s “Fool’s Paradise”

    Like last year’s Jheri Curl June inductee Vesta Williams, Meli’sa Morgan was a backup singer for Chaka Khan before beginning her solo career. The influence is obvious. Morgan and Khan both have larger than life, soulful voices; even larger hair; and a connection to Prince: the title track and first hit single from Morgan’s solo…

  • Jheri Curl June: Krystol’s “Passion from a Woman”

    We enter our annual Ladies’ Week with exactly what this year’s Jheri Curl June needs: some Passion from a Woman. Krystol is one of those groups that, despite having plenty of talent and hitmaking potential, never achieved widespread fame. Their first two albums failed to gain much commercial success, despite being chock full of bangers…

  • Jheri Curl June: Georgio’s “Tina Cherry”

    Every year there’s at least one artist who I eagerly anticipate writing about for Jheri Curl June. This year, without question, that artist is Georgio. I already told the story on our latest podcast about the first time I encountered Georgio, flipping through the racks at my local record store (shout out to Purple Narwhal Records…

  • Jheri Curl June: The Controllers’ “Stay”

    The first time I heard “Stay” by the Controllers, it was blasting from the speakers of a purple motorcycle driving down Warren Avenue on a sultry late August night in Detroit. The part I heard was about midway through, during the synth solo. My first thought was, “What the FUCK is this?!” Then I realized…

  • Jheri Curl June: Colonel Abrams’ “The Truth”

    In some ways, it’s surprising that it took us this long to feature Colonel Abrams (real name, no gimmicks) for Jheri Curl June. He was born in Detroit–always a big plus for us proud Southeastern Michiganders. He had connections to the architects of the sound, having sung on a few tracks by 94 East, a…

  • Jheri Curl June: Paul Laurence’s “Racism!!!”

    While Jheri Curl Music tends to be about the lighter side of life (dancin’, lovin’, partyin’, and rollerskatin’), there are times when social justice issues need to be addressed on the dance floor. Paul Laurence’s “Racism!!!” does just that with a simple chorus that could easily be used as a protest march chant: “Racism SUCKS,…

  • Jheri Curl June: The Gap Band’s “Disrespect”

    Last Thursday, June 7, would have been Prince’s 60th birthday had he: a) not passed away in April 2016, and b) believed in concepts as prosaic as “birthdays” and “years.” Last week also happened to mark the underwhelming conclusion of the beef between rappers Pusha T and Drake, which just a few short weeks ago…

  • Jheri Curl June: Fatback Band’s “Double Love Affair”

    Long before SZA’s ode to sharing a man, Fatback Band had “Double Love Affair,” a playful, jaunty tune about two-timing from the point of view of a man who “has so much love inside” that he “has to spread it out.” It might be the most lighthearted, infectious song about blatant infidelity ever recorded. Musically,…

  • Jheri Curl June: West Phillips’ “(I’m Just a) Sucker for a Pretty Face”

    I’ve been sitting on this song for at least two Jheri Curl Junes now, but I always held it back because I didn’t know what to say about West Phillips. The only information and the sole photo I could find of him are both above, stolen from his Discogs artist page; and when I Google…

  • Jheri Curl June: Imagination’s “Just an Illusion”

    As we mentioned in our Jheri Curl June 2K18 podcast, one of our favorite activities here in the Dystopian Dance Party universe is digging in the crates for Jheri Curl Music; and the British JCM group Imagination is my favorite discovery since the Deele. I picked up their first album, 1981’s Body Talk, solely because of…