| Author | Message | ||
  bluerhythmbass (bluerhythmbass) 2-Debutant Username: bluerhythmbass Post Number: 22 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 192.55.140.2 |
Here's a link to a good article about Dennis Coffey's career! Enjoy! http://www.freep.com/news/cfp/ 9/jfunk19_20040819.htm Russ | ||
Alain Nguyen (soulgems) 3-Pundit Username: soulgems Post Number: 40 Registered: 7-2004 Posted From: 65.166.187.218 |
I have a CJ & Co 12" on side A We Got Our Own Thang. When I am tired of listening to it I flip it to the B side Devil's Gun. back and forth, back and forth. I can listen to this record for hours!!! I think these two seminal tracks were the inspiration for a lot of techno/house records coming out today. Sure Can't Go To The Moon and Wings of Fire have always been on my playlist as well. But of all the amazing Dennis Coffey productions Theme From Black Belt Jones is my favorite, I used to play it a lot in the 80's and got mixed reactions. Probably too ahead of its time.Last year I dropped the song during a music festival and people went "Monkey Mad" over it. The ultimate Breakdance anthem!!! Mr Coffey thank you for creating this incredible music. | ||
Dennis Coffey (dennis_coffey) 3-Pundit Username: dennis_coffey Post Number: 52 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 205.188.116.138 |
Hi Alain. Thank you for the compliments. I enjoyed every minute of making that music! | ||
Alain Nguyen (soulgems) 3-Pundit Username: soulgems Post Number: 42 Registered: 7-2004 Posted From: 65.166.187.218 |
Dennis, I bet you never intended Black Belt Jones to become a breakdance anthem when you recorded it!!! LOL | ||
isaiah imani (isaiah) 3-Pundit Username: isaiah Post Number: 59 Registered: 8-2004 Posted From: 205.188.116.138 |
"Another big moment for Coffey occurred outside the Motown family, in 1971, when a single from his album "Evolution" became a No. 1 hit, selling more than a million copies. The instrumental single was "Scorpio," so named because Coffey's astrological sign is Scorpio. The song's rise up the charts was a surprise, particularly since it happened more than a year after "Evolution" was released. The album itself didn't go far, but somehow "Scorpio" became popular in New York dance clubs. "I remember listening to 'JLB one night and the record was No. 10," Coffey recalled. "The next week I listened and I thought it fell off the charts. I was expecting the worst. But the thing had gone to No. 1 in one week. It just shot up the charts." "Scorpio" has often been sampled by other artists, including in rapper LL Cool J's "Jinglin' Baby." Sometimes Coffey gets royalties. Often he doesn't. "Flattery is one thing, but sometimes you got to pay for the services," he said, though he added he usually doesn't press his legal rights. Coffey's career took him to Los Angeles in 1973, where he did sessions for Motown and other record companies, and also forayed into movies and television. He came back to Detroit after a few years, but the music scene had died down, so he picked up his family and made another move, this time to New York. By then, jobs were hard to come by and, by 1979, Coffey -- who had five children -- made a difficult decision. He moved back to Detroit and gave up his full-time music career, first to become a sales representative, then to work on the assembly line at a General Motors plant. Even as Coffey's new career grew and he earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Wayne State University as well as trained auto employees at GM, the music in him never died. It couldn't, Wolfrum said, not with all that talent." Dennis, a fantastic 10 paragraphs to sum up a lot about what the music industry is all about, no? How many of our heroes went from #1 smash hit/Gold Record to working on the GM assembly line??? The answer is probably quite a few, and that's the reality not often brought to the fore here at SDF... Let me be clear, working on the assembly line at GM aint a bad job at all, but considering the prestige we place on great jobs in the entertainment industry, and the production of classic songs, there's no comparison... This is the fate of a lot of our "stars", who had their 15 minutes of fame, and returned to a humble life thereafter... In this case, Dennis, you pursued your education, and became an author and teacher... What a life, man(smile!) Great article which should've gotten a great deal more attention from the crew... Peace! Isaiah Peace! Isaiah | ||
JSmith (jsmith) 2-Debutant Username: jsmith Post Number: 15 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 62.172.213.132 |
I was only scanning Jackie Moores LP cover (the album that contains "Both Ends Against the Middle") last night. Various cuts off the album were cut in Philly whilst others were cut in Miami, so the album links (in a way) the list's two great git men, Bobby Eli & Dennis. Only problem is Dennis didn't bother to write out his name in full for the guys at Atlantic, thus he is referred to as Dennis Coffee. Bet that didn't impress him much !!! | ||
Dennis Coffey (dennis_coffey) 3-Pundit Username: dennis_coffey Post Number: 53 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.12.116.138 |
Hi Isaiah. I always considered myself one of the lucky ones considering what happened to others in the music industry. I worked on the assembly line to complete my education but I am not on the line now and I do well as a consultant. I work with a lot of good people and still play music when it suits me. | ||
Dennis Coffey (dennis_coffey) 3-Pundit Username: dennis_coffey Post Number: 54 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.12.116.138 |
Hi JSmith. A lot of people accidently misspell my last name even when I spell it out for them. Someone else at the company makes a mistake. |
