Total Pageviews

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Disco With a Message Philadelphia International All Stars




MFSB created the ultimate voguers and house children classic with Love is the Message. The Danny Krivit edit becoming a classic at The Paradise Garage and all the voguing balls ever since. But in my opinion they reached the pinnacle of their brilliance with their collaboration with the Philadelphia International All Stars.
LET'S CLEAN UP THE GHETTO

The 1977 promo only 12" of Let's Clean Up the Ghetto is soulful disco perfection. Dexter Wansel's arrangement, the lyrics by Gamble and Huff and the vocal stylings of particularly Lou Rawls and Teddy Pendergrass make this one of the deepest and most memorable disco records ever.

Kenny Gamble was married at the time to Dee Dee Sharp so she was one of the few female vocals on it. The O'Jays, Billy Paul and Archie Drell were on board too. All the proceeds went to a charity project but this beauty didn't get anywhere near the attention of later more schlocky super-group projects like Band Aid and U.S.A. for Africa. In fact it only charted for a month on the U.S. disco charts.