Tag: prince

  • Jheri Curl June Special: Prince

    I think we’ve already established that we are huge fans of Prince here at the ol’ DDP, so we have to do something to celebrate his 56th birthday tomorrow, June 7–especially when that birthday falls right at the end of the first week of Jheri Curl June. And besides, if we’re really going to celebrate…

  • Jheri Curl June: Jesse Johnson’s “Be Your Man”

    Jesse Johnson’s birthday was Sunday, so this is a little bit of a belated birthday tribute. “Be Your Man,” from Jesse Johnson’s 1985 debut solo album Jesse Johnson’s Revue, is quintessential Minneapolis jheri curl funk: the pounding drum machine beat, heavy bassline, glossy synth “horns” (which he calls out in a James Brown-esque band leader style),…

  • Introduction to Jheri Curl June

    In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a new form of predominantly African American popular music began to take shape. Rooted in soul and funk music, but largely stripped of those genres’ grit; with elements of rock and disco, and at least one eye forever resting on potential radio play; the loosely-defined style has gone…