Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Got to Give It Up’

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love’

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Let’s Start the Dance’

Bohannon-hannon-hannon...

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Forget Me Nots’

Bow down to Freddie Washington.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Sultans of Swing’

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘It’s Time to Party Now’

Ray Parker, Jr. bites Chic.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Cutie Pie’

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘That’s Where the Happy People Go’

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Give Me the Night’

Another Rod Temperton joint.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘He’s the Greatest Dancer’

I don’t think the Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards side projects stand up as well as those old Chic hits. This one just sounds old to me.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘I Want Your Love’

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Strawberry Letter 23’

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘West End Girls’

Everybody remembers “West End Girls,” right? A signature British synthpop record of the ’80s.

But I didn’t know that Pet Shop Boys originally cut a version of “West End Girls” with New York club-music producer Bobby O... and that the original 12-inch sounds like some Arthur Baker-style electrofunk. Check it out:

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘The Groove Line’

I like the thought of songwriters getting rich. Rod Temperton, an Englishman, wrote his first hit records – including this one – when he was in the funk band Heatwave.

Then he fell in tight with Quincy Jones and wrote such tunes as “Stomp!” (for the Brothers Johnson), “Give Me the Night” (for George Benson), “The Dude” and “Razzamatazz” (for Q himself), and “Rock With You,” “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” for Michael Jackson.

No surprise that Mr. Temperton reportedly owns homes in L.A., France, Switzerland and Fiji.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Funkytown’

Twenty-one years ago, I visited Minneapolis to report on the music scene there. Met a popular nightclub singer named Cynthia Johnson. She gave a great interview.

Ms. Johnson had been the lead singer of a local funk band called Flyte Tyme... which used to compete directly with Prince’s local funk band, Grand Central.

Flyte Tyme included “Jimmy Jam” Harris, Terry Lewis and Jellybean Johnson, while Grand Central included Morris Day and the artist soon to be known as André Cymone. (How’s that for a couple of high-school bands?)

Look at the photo above. That’s Cynthia Johnson fronting Flyte Tyme... with Terry, Jellybean and Sue Ann Carwell in the background. (Remember Sue Ann?)

Irony of the story is... in 1980, Cynthia Johnson was a bigger deal in the music business than Jimmy & Terry, Morris Day and André Cymone put together. Because she was the voice on the international smash-hit disco record “Funkytown” by Lipps, Inc.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Rise’

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Keep Your Body Workin’ ’

This one is for bklyn6.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Contact’

All right, I admit it. I’m running out of 12-inch clips worth flashing back to.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Standing On the Top’

I always felt a little sad for the Temptations when this record was out.

Yeah, I know it was a hit. But after everything the Tempts achieved in show business, only to have Rick James barking “Temptations, sing!” at ’em... that shit wasn’t right.

Nice bridge, though. Real nice bridge.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Love Hangover’

Best. Disco. Record. Ever.