Skip to main content

Hot Chocolate

 137

Hot Chocolate

Errol Brown – 'Hot Chocolate' | Regis Autographs

Hot Chocolate

 Hot Chocolate is one of the best British soul bands of all time. Known for their fluffy, hook-laden pop disco, this band offers so much more! Formed when vocalist Errol Brown and bassist Tony Wilson joined forces as a novelty band covering modern hits and morphing them into reggae. That was the case when their cover of "Give Peace a Chance" found its way to John Lennon and soon the band was signed to Apple Records. Unfortunately, the band hung in limbo and didn't really find their voice and formula, a formula that would have them scoring huge hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Songs like: "You Sexy Thing," "Every 1's a Winner," "Brother Louie," "It Started with a Kiss," "So You Win Again," "Emma," and "No Doubt About It." "You Sexy Thing" charted in the Top 10 in three different decades! Not bad for a band that started off as a novelty-reggae-cover-band. Their albums (1974's Cicero Park, 1975's self-titled album, 1976's Man to Man, 1978's Every 1's a Winner, 1979's Going Through the Motions, 1980's Class, 1982's Mystery, 1983's Love Shot, and 1993's Strictly Dance) barely scraped the Top 30. The band's center-piece is Errol Brown's singing voice. There is nothing that comes close or ever will to his smooth-buttered-soul-sounding singing. The band split in 1986. Versions of the band performed through the 2010's. Brown released a handful of solo albums and died of liver cancer in 2015. He left behind a body of work and legacy that is still felt today, as evidenced by prolific indie rocker Ty Segal covering their hit "Every 1's a Winner" recently and Phish giving "You Sexy Thing" the good ol' college try. This is music that makes you want to jubilate.

It's...

Hot Chocolate

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Billie Holiday

27 Billie Holiday Billie Holiday The first jazz singer to really incorporate blues & move peoples hearts, Billie is immortal. I didn't get into her with her traditional music but rather the 2007 album Remixed and Reimagined . Even through the chops & screws- one thing was unmistakable- that voice- so beautiful, so unique, so pure... She said she tried to sing like a horn & it's evident. She is one of the most accomplish vocal performers of all time. A half-a-century later & her style is still mimicked. Billie is as American as apple pie. In 1935 she was singing at the Apollo Theater. She hopped around labels- Columbia to Decca to Verve- until finding her home. She would battle personal problems (drug use & the like). She would pass away on July 17, 1959. Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington... there's certain artist that are almost as important to American history as they are to the progression of popular music itself. Billie is one of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grouper

 131 Grouper  Grouper Reverb. Echo. Effects. Acoustic. Droney. These are some words you could use to explain Grouper's earlier work. Grouper is the solo project of Liz Harris. Her first album was self-titled & self-released. Grouper's second album was 2006's Way Their Crept . There was something special about that mid-ought's droney-underwater sounding indie. Grouper would go on to release five (!) more albums before I came on board as a fan: 2006's Wide , 2007's Cover The Windows & The Walls , 2008's widely acclaimed Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill & 2011's double-album (but separately released) AIA: Dream Loss & AIA: Alien Observer ... just to be followed up by 2012's double album: Violent Replacement Part I and Violent Replacement Part II . It wasn't until Grouper's more structured-releases that I became a full fledged fan. It was with 2013's The Man Who Died In His Boat that I finally jumped on board as a full-fled...
Post a Comment
Read more

Drake

84 Drake Drake It’s not everyday that a rapper comes along & breaks arecord for most Top Ten singles by an artist or band, a record held by The Beatles for 54 years. Drake released his first mixtape in 2006 but he first bust onto the scene (not including his acting career on Degrassi High ) with 2009’s timeless-single “ Best I Ever Had ,” which, with the help of its sexist (but still sexy) video , peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, not bad for a song off a   mixtape: 2009’s So Far Gone . With the unexpected success of the mixtape, the debut album 2010’s Thank MeLater quickly arrived. I didn’t jump on the band wagon until his second album, 2011’s Take Care , which, I will still argue is his best. It probably helps that the title track was produced by one of my favorite DJ’s, ( Jamie xx ). 2013 gave us Nothing Was The Same ,   which proved Drake could really spit bars. His lasting power could no longer be questioned. 2015 gave us If You’re Reading This It’s T...
Post a Comment
Read more