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  • Jheri Curl June: Jermaine Stewart’s “Jody”

    This month is of course not only the holiest month on the Dystopian Dance Party calendar, but also Pride Month for the LGBT community, commemorating the Stonewall uprisings of June 1969. So I thought today was as good a time as any to talk about one of our favorite LGBT Jheri Curl artists (LGBTJC?), Jermaine Stewart.

    Stewart is best known for his 1986 hit “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”–which is, for the record, the fucking jam–and for having quite possibly the most iconic blowout-and-thin-moustache combo in the game. But he had an illustrious career behind the scenes, as well: starting out as a dancer on Soul Train, then just missing a place in the group Shalamar, for whom he went on to dance and sing backing vocals; he can also be heard singing backup on Culture Club’s 1984 hit “Miss Me Blind.”

    It was the Soul Train/Shalamar connection that led to “Jody,” Stewart’s second-best-known solo song, inspired by his close friend and former Shalamar frontwoman (/previous JCJ profilee), Jody Watley. It’s also a jam, with a dark electro-funk vibe reminiscent of 1999-era Prince.

    Sadly, Jermaine Stewart’s life ended in a way his ebullient spirit didn’t deserve: he died of AIDS-related liver cancer in 1997, at just 39 years old. His passing echoes that of many other gay men who came of age before treatment and prevention of HIV were widely accessible–a reminder of one of the many reasons why Pride Month is important. Which, I realize, is a bummer of a way to end this post, but hey: if listening to Jermaine Stewart can’t put a smile on your face, what else can? You can hear him, and the rest of this month’s artists, on the playlists below.

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  • Jheri Curl June: Exposé’s “Point of No Return”

    Formed by Miami D.J. Lewis Martinée, Exposé originally released their first single, “Point of No Return,” in 1984. However, during the recording of their debut album, Exposure, the group’s lineup completely changed. Thus, “Point of No Return” was re-recorded and re-released in 1987.

    Although Exposé exemplified Miami freestyle, “Point of No Return” stands out as particularly Jheri Curl–most likely because it was initially recorded at the pinnacle of Jheri Curl Music. It’s a fascinating example of the connections between two important strains of mid-’80s dance music.

    And with that, this year’s Jheri Curl June Ladies’ Week is over–but there’s still one more week of festivities to go! In the meantime, playlists are below.

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  • Jheri Curl June: The Jets’ “Crush on You”

    This Jheri Curl June, we’ve unsurprisingly talked a fair amount about artists from Minneapolis; but most of those artists–again, unsurprisingly–had a direct connection to the artist from Minneapolis, Prince. The Jets are a rare example of a Twin Cities R&B group from the mid-’80s that didn’t have the Purple One pulling the strings from behind the scenes. A Mormon, Polynesian American family band, comprised of the eight oldest children of Maikeli “Mike” and Vaké Wolfgramm–no, seriously, I had to crop half of the kids out of the featured image just to make it a manageable size–the Jets actually got started in the late 1970s, performing as “Quasar.” But it wasn’t until 1986, and their Number 3 single “Crush on You,” when the Jets really…took off (BOOOOOM).

    I probably hear “Crush on You” at least once a day on the Sirius XM station the Groove, and it never gets old: it’s a frothy, energetic blend of freestyle and classic Minneapolis Jheri Curl, with lyrics (sung by the two youngest Wolfgramms, Elizabeth and Moana)  that are exactly as wholesome as you’d expect from a bunch of teenagers in the LDS Church. If you can listen to this and not smile, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably a sociopath.

    We’ve got one more day of Ladies’ Week, followed by one more week of Jheri Curl June. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts. Playlists below!

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  • Jheri Curl June: Vesta Williams’ “Once Bitten Twice Shy”

    Similar to Monday’s Jheri Curl June inductee, Pennye Ford, Vesta Williams also began her career as a backup and session singer for various artists, including Chaka Khan. Her 1986 solo debut, Vesta, included her first Top 10 R&B hit: “Once Bitten Twice Shy”–which, regrettably, is not an R&B version of the Ian Hunter song, later covered by Great White. But, that would be amazing.

    Anyway, we’ll be back tomorrow with more from the ladies of Jheri Curl Music–playlists below!

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  • Jheri Curl June: The Girls’ “Girl Talk”

    We’ve talked a fair amount on this blog about the, ahem, interesting similarities between Rick James’ Mary Jane Girls and Prince’s Vanity 6: a concept James always maintained he came up with first, only for the Paisley Bandit to swoop in and summarily bite it. But if other stories are to be believed, Prince was actually biting from someone much closer to home: his first bass player and one-time surrogate brother, André Cymone.

    The rocky relationship between Prince and Cymone is another thing we’ve discussed in Jheri Curl Junes past, and it should be noted that Prince had a history of “borrowing” from his friend and collaborator: “Do Me, Baby,” among other early songs, was by all accounts an André Cymone joint. So it wasn’t exactly a shock to hear that Prince got the idea for a girl group after catching wind of Cymone’s own side project, creatively named “the Girls.” At some point, according to the excellent (and sadly out of print) biography Dance Music Sex Romance,  André and Prince even combined their ideas for the group, then known as “the Hookers”; André, however, walked away after realizing that Prince wanted him to do the work without taking any of the credit. And the rest was history: the Hookers became Vanity 6, who became Apollonia 6, and Cymone’s “Girls” released their debut album in 1984, to commercial and critical indifference.

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  • Jheri Curl June: Pennye Ford’s “Change Your Wicked Ways”

    Penny Ford (a.k.a. Pennye Ford, for reasons unknown) began her musical career as a backup singer for Zapp in 1979 and went on to become a session singer at Motown in Los Angeles before signing to Total Experience Records, home of Gap Band and Yarbrough & Peoples. So, needless to say, her Jheri Curl credentials were set when she embarked on her solo career in 1984. But, holy shit people… not even a résumé like that could prepare us for this video:

    If anyone ever asks me what Jheri Curl June is all about, this is the video I will show them. The mirrors, the outfits, Penny’s unfaithful boyfriend is a blatant ripoff of the Kid in Purple Rain... But, most importantly, look at this fucking curl.

    Just like we do every year, we’re dedicating one week this month to the women of Jheri Curl Music–see you tomorrow for more JCJ Ladies’ Week! Playlists below.

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  • Dystopian Book Club Podcast, Jheri Curl June Edition: The Memoirs of Rick James

    Dystopian Book Club Podcast, Jheri Curl June Edition: The Memoirs of Rick James

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    It didn’t take a stroke of genius to come up with the idea for this year’s Jheri Curl June podcast. Rick James may be the most important architect of the genre we call Jheri Curl Music who we hadn’t already commemorated with a long-term feature. He also has a hell of a story: one he told in not one, but two posthumous memoirs–2007’s Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Superfreak and 2014’s Glow–which makes him a perfect candidate for the Dystopian Book Club. A “habitual line-stepper” in both life and art, James was vital in bridging the gap between 1970s P-Funk and 1980s Jheri Curl; his later decline into drug addiction and imprisonment was unfortunate, but could only somewhat dampen his boundless talent and charisma. So join us on this most sacred of occasions as we celebrate Mr. Cold Blooded himself: a man whose artistic potential was the only thing bigger than his larger-than-life personality and appetites. Gimme some ganja!

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  • Jheri Curl June: Kool & The Gang’s “Fresh”

    Kool & The Gang is yet another ’70s funk band that sustained themselves through the changing landscape of ’80s R&B with their ability to adapt to the times. I mean, just listen to anything off 1973’s Wild and Peaceful, and then consider that “Ladies’ Night” (which, by the way, will always be THE fucking jam) came out just six short years later. Of course, any group that lasts 30+ years will have some stylistic changes; but what is so surprising about Kool & The Gang is that they were initially a tight jazz/funk outfit. Anyone whose sole knowledge of Kool & The Gang is their disco late-’70s-funk-hit-turned-’90s-elementary-school-party-song “Celebration” will be confused as hell when they hear the group at their jazziest on Live at P.J’s. I mean, there’s a fucking flute on that album.

    1984’s Emergency, meanwhile, proved that Kool & The Gang could definitely pull off Jheri Curl Music–as well as jheri curls on their heads–while also, in the video to “Fresh,” depicting one of the weirdest adaptations of Cinderella I’ve ever seen:

    Like, I’m not sure why the step sisters are eating barbed wire burgers. I’m also not sure why the fairy godmother is a Marilyn Monroe lookalike who throws a grenade that turns into a party dress. But just the fact that Cinderella busts into the party and immediately strips down to her leotard and starts hip thrusting is enough to make this my favorite version of the fairy tale. It definitely has the best soundtrack.

    Oh, and her heels have spurs on them.  That IS fresh.

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  • Jheri Curl June: Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time”

    This Friday, we’ll be posting a special Jheri Curl June edition of our podcast series-within-a-series, Dystopian Book Club, on the memoirs of Mr. Rick James. It’s a fun conversation–after a year and a half, we’re finally hitting our stride as podcasters!–and I’m excited to unleash it upon an unsuspecting (/indifferent) Internet. But I also wanted to take this opportunity to cover in more detail a key moment from James’ career that we glossed over while recording the episode. I’m talking, of course, about his composition and production of Eddie Murphy’s 1985 single, “Party All the Time.”

    Like most songs by actors-turned-“singers,” “Party All the Time” gets its fair share of scorn, and maybe some of it is deserved: objectively speaking, the world didn’t need a full-length album by the man who gave us “Buh-Weet Sings.” But there’s a reason one might actually hear “Party All the Time” on a bar jukebox or the radio–a risk one never encounters with the musical stylings of, say, Don Johnson or Seth MacFarlane. Simply put, it’s a catchy-ass piece of Jheri Curl pop–and for that, Rick James deserves 100% of our thanks.

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  • Jheri Curl June: Junie Morrison’s “Show Me Yours”

    Back in May when we did our Memorial Day podcast, I was sorely unaware of Junie Morrison’s music. Sure, I had heard the Ohio Players’ albums from the early ’70s, of which Junie played a seminal part; I had heard Funkadelic’s late ’70s music, particularly “(Not Just) Knee Deep” (I mean obviously, I’ve watched Good Burger enough times). But, while I was technically familiar with Junie’s contributions, up until about a month ago I couldn’t have told you who he was. Even after I heard Kanye’s “No More Parties in L.A.” Even after I heard Solange’s “Junie.” Even after I heard that he’d died earlier this year.

    I like to think that I’ve made up for some lost time in the past month, however, because I’ve been unapologetically obsessed, and will spread the gospel of Walter “Junie” Morrison as much as possible.  The man easily deserves as many accolades as Prince, and in many ways is very similar: Junie was a multi-instrumentalist who played every instrument on his solo albums; he joined the Ohio Players at only 16 years of age and was largely responsible for writing and arranging many of their earlier records. Matter of fact, after becoming familiar with Junie’s solo stuff from The Westbound Years, I can’t imagine Prince’s first two albums–much less his entire career–without Junie Morrison’s music.

    Hell, Jheri Curl June as we know it would not exist without Junie. Give another listen to “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” with its triumphant synth line (one of Junie’s signature sounds), and tell me that is not a rudimentary form of Jheri Curl Music. Furthermore, Junie, along with yesterday’s JCJ inductee Stevie Wonder, predated Roger Troutman’s usage of the keyboard talkbox by several years. So, there you have it, folks: Junie Morrison is the unsung architect of our sacred Jheri Curl Music. Until now, that is.

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