Show notes
Back for another week with Midnight Star on the show featuring Old School's Golden Age. The Old School Rewind Podcast. The crew here atteh OSR often thinks about parking on the dance floor. Thats what grown folks do?!
The group was formed in 1976 at Kentucky State University by trumpeter Reggie Calloway,
The rest of the group is vocalist Belinda Lipscomb, guitarist/drummer/vocalist Melvin Gentry, bassist Kenneth Gant, multi-instrumentalist Bill Simmons, keyboard player/vocalist Bo Watson and guitarist/keyboardist Jeff Cooper, as a self-contained group. They later added non-KSU student trombonist Vincent Calloway (Reginald's younger brother).
It was 1978, there was a showcase in New York City, SOLAR Records head honcho Dick Griffey was at the show case and signed em to sign the group. (Explain a showcase)
The first album "The Beginning" in 1980 was played in studio with some "guest" musicians.
In 1981 their second album, on Solar, Standing Together, reached position #54 on the U.S. R&B chart.
In 1982 they released a third album, Victory. On this album there was a switch in styles as far as production goes and they started Using elected band leader Reggie Calloway's production skills instead
Midnight Star hit the U.S. R&B chart with early singles "Hot Spot" and "I've Been Watching You". Drummer Bobby Lovelace joined the group in late 1982, that freed Gentry to sing and play guitar exclusively.
Midnight Star's fourth album, No Parking on the Dance Floor, was released in 1983, and proved to be the breakout. It was a mix of R&B and funk with the " vocoder vocals, " the album hit No. 2 on the Billboard magazine Top Black Albums chart and No. 27 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape category. Its where I sure as heck found my bearings. (Explain teen night)
The album went double platinum in the U.S. "Freak-A-Zoid", went to No. 2 on the U.S. Black Singles chart.
I gotta play it. Here ya go. Old school rewind podcast
Play Freak-A-Zoids------------------------------------------------------------
This is the old school rewind podcast, my name is Aaron Goodwin. I was a radio guy playing these songs for years.. I'm from California. This podcast is world wide and celebrates the 80's dance and hip hop generation and sometimes its relation to how the radio changed. In those days. Today the order up is midnight star. I see From Wiki, Washington Post's columnist J. D. Considine argues that "this song served to "establish [the] group's stylistic identity" and that it "put Midnight Star on the pop music map because it so perfectly combined the group's technopop tendencies with its R&B roots". I couldn't have said that more eloquently so I didn't and won't thank you J.D. this one for out a lot of needles for sure, here's midnight stars wet my whistle on the old school rewind podcast
Play "Wet My Whistle" --------------------------------------------------------
You've hit subscribe and weekly you're getting two episodes of the old school rewind podcast we're chatting tracks from midnight star and The album's three singles the two I've just played and this one all charted on Billboard's Hot 100, Black Singles and dance charts and the album tracks
Play No Parking on the dance floor---------------------------------------------
Hard not to tap your toes to this old school from midnight star (mention concert and how they are all still together). They played all the hits even"Slow Jam" (co-written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds) and "Electricity" was also getting airplay that in that time you'd label significant.. This is the old school rewind with midnight star
Play electricity--------------------------------------------------------------
Their next album, referring to midnight star, Planetary Invasion, had the same "basic sound...from the chattering electronic pulse to Vincent Calloway's chatty vocoder" as the most of the songs from midnight star The Planetary invasion album also went platinum. The first single, "Operator" made the pop Top 20 and the number one spot on the R&B chart; it remains the band's only Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hit to date.
Play operator---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been telling you the story of midnight star. it was a big deal for these artists to get themselves together for a multi city tour hence the chitlin circuit was its spot up to that point They grouped together a set of artists on a super tour back in 1985, Kool & the Gang, Midnight Star, Shalamar and Klymaxx performed at the Marriott Convention Center in Oklahoma City. The band continued on to concerts in San Antonio and Little Rock and more. This was really new music it was indeed a happening and the start of the movement to bigger venues and success
In 1986 the band released their sixth album, Headlines, which was their third album to sell at least gold. It was to be their last with the Calloway brothers. Due to irreconcilable differences with the other members, Reggie was out of the group and Vincent left shortly thereafter. Without the Calloways (who formed the group Calloway and released an album that spawned the 1990 hit single "I Wanna Be Rich", there were others to come, but nothing like the old school era we tribute here on the old school rewind podcast The group went on a long hiatus, though they never officially broke up. And are touring still today. God Bless Midnight star
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