SLEAZE CLASSIC GUARDIAN ANGEL by Masquerade and what is sleaze vs. morning music anyway?

German artist Drafi Deutscher recorded this song using the alias Masquerade and came up with a huge pop hit all over Europe in 1983.  Being that certain d.j.'s at The Saint in N.Y.C. were well traveled and had a taste for Euro they made this import a sleaze classic.  It brought the punters a swaying from Fire Island to Provincetown and back.

While we are on the subject here's an interesting analysis, here's what Chicago D.J. Mark Vallese has to say about the subject.  Maybe you've had the pleasure of hearing him spin at The Dunes resort in Douglas, Michigan.
What's the difference between "morning music"
and "sleaze"? If you ask 100 people this question, you'll get
100 different answers.  The term "sleaze" has been around since the 70's
and is most commonly used to describe the down tempo music that was
played toward the end of the night (or the end of the party).  It's
usually very melodic and pretty.  Most of the songs were vocal pieces
with a few notable exceptions. The lyrics tended to be very
emotional in one way or another, often describing the joys of love,
or the pain of losing it.  Here's some examples of classic "sleaze"
music, first the joyful, happy songs...

Under The Influence Of Love - Love Unlimited lary sanders edit
La Vie En Rose - Grace Jones Tom Moulton mix
Be Thankful For What You Got - William DeVaughn get it now
Take Off Your Makeup - Lamont Dozier  larry sanders edit
Dance Little Dreamer/Hot Butterfly - Bionic Boogie  chanson
Darling, That's Me - Judy Cheeks/Loose Change  JUDY
Just Us - Two Tons Of Fun enjoy Just Us and for added fun I GOT THE FEELING Disconet Mix
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae  an edit
Somebody's Eyes - Viola Wills  2 versions of a Viola beauty
Wrap Your Arms Around Me - Agnetha Faltskog  an Abba beauty
Take Me Down/Hang On In There Baby - Johnny Bristol
Music, Harmony and Rhythm - Brooklyn Dreams featuring Donna Summer's husband
Saturday Night, Sunday Morning - Thelma Houston Enjoy it
Most Of All - Gloria Gaynor/Saint Tropez

Here's some classic "rip yer heart out" sleaze (termed by some as
razorblade/slit your wrist music)...

Throwing It All Away - Rhetta Hughs
Stop (Your Tearing Out My Heart) - Bob-A-Rella  stop and download this

Loving You, Losing You - Phyllis Hyman gorgeous songbird
Don't Pity Me - Faith, Hope and Charity  THE JIMMY M. EDIT
Changin' - Sharon Ridley  this one was huge at The Paradise Garage  HOT TRACKS MIX
Guardian Angel - Masquerade a zip with 6 versions including newer edits
Pull Yourself Together - Buddy Miles a zip of it
Why Can't We Live Together - Timmy Thomas  download it
Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin  a ROBBIE LESLIE classic
You'll Never Know - Hi Gloss define's the genre  Hi-Gloss
It's A Shame - Spinners  TOM MOULTON MIX

And, here's some of those notable instrumentals. ..

Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra (there's a fairly rare
vocal version of this too)  rare vocal version
Rise/Manhattan Melody - Herb Alpert check out G's hypnotizing groove edit
African Symphony - Henry Mancini  African
Anambra - Ozo (the vocal version of this song is called "Anambra
River") ANAMBRA DOWNLOAD
Tubular Bells - Champs Boy Orchestra  Listen
Livin' In The Jungle - John Tropea A .wav of Jungle

There's even some "sassy" sleaze classics...

I Ain't Been Licked - Diana Ross diana
Don't Give It Up/Runaway Love - Linda Clifford  sassy Linda
check out some Linda Clifford sassy
I Hear Talk - Bucks Fizz listen  DISCONET EDIT
Like An Eagle - Dennis Parker   a zip of versions
You Got The Stuff - Bill Withers download it  sleazy instrumental version

Somebody asked about "Walk The Night" by the Skatt Brothers, wanting
to know if that's sleaze. Well, technically, it's not.  It could, and
is, played in morning sets, but it's an example of "sleazy" music,
not "sleaze".  Sexual overtones in the lyrics don't automatically
classify a song as sleaze.  Sleaze lyrics tended more toward love and
emotion rather than blatant sexuality.  There are some exceptions to
that rule, let's not forget Donna Summer's nearly 14 minute long
orgasm in "Love To Love You Baby"!  There were a few creative DJ 's
who would take a song that wasn't sleaze and turn it into one by
playing a 45rpm pressing at 33 1/3.  Two songs that come to mind,
that worked perfectly when played that way, were "Souvenirs" by
Voyage and "Magic Bird Of Fire" by The Salsoul Orchestra.
Unfortunately, true "sleaze" music is mostly a thing of the past.
The few new, or recent songs that could fit in that category are now
usually classified under the much broader term "morning music".

In the early to mid 80's the term "sleaze" started to fade out, to
be replaced with the much broader term of "morning music".  While
this was still the music played toward the end of a club night or
party, "morning music" did not describe a specific genre of songs
like "sleaze" did.  The term started describing the "type" of
music that was played at a certain time or part of the night, rather than
describing the actual "sound" or "feeling" of an individual piece of
music.  One way to put it is that all "sleaze" music can be
classified as "morning", but not all "morning" music can be
classified as "sleaze".  While the term became much broader, it
started encompassing music with a faster beat and also music with a
darker, more electronic sound to it.  This also coincided with the
demise of "live" instruments being used in making most dance music.
One thing that didn't change a whole lot was the use of vocals in a
majority of the music, but the lyrics often became lighter, with
less of an emotional punch to them.  Here's a few examples of
classic songs that were among the first to be classified with the brand
spanking new term of "morning music" ...

Close To Perfection - Miquel Brown 12 inch mix   single
Some People - Cliff Richard   they called him Britain's Elvis
Survivor - Mike Francis unfortunately he died in 2009 at the age of 48
American Love - Rose Laurens  many versions 
You're My Rainbow - Hazel Dean  enjoy
Lessons In Love - Level 42  download
When Your Heart Is Weak/The Promise You Made - Cock Robin LISTEN
No Promises - Icehouse Dream Time Mix

One interesting thing that started happening when "morning music"
became more and more popular was that older songs which were
originally classified as plain old "disco" when they came out, were
now being relabeled and refiled in people's "morning music"
sections. Songs like Foxy's "Party Boys", Lipps Inc. "How
Long"and "Dancing In Paradise" by El Coco are all examples of this
reclassification.

Unfortunately, the quantity and quality of "morning music" has faded
drastically over the past few years. That's not to say there isn't
any current "morning" out there, but you really have to search to
find it and search even harder to find somewhere to dance to it...
outside of your own living room.  I'll close this with a list of some
of my "morning music" favorites from then and now...

We Can Fall In Love - Aderna it's here
Love In Your Eyes - Dan Hartman  the hot tracks mix
Walkin' - Dhuo  download
This Time - Chante' Moore a classic
Beat Of Love - Chris Thompson
Age Of Reason - John Farnham here's Peech's Balearic Bondi edit
Keep On Rocking - Hemyl  listen to it
Masterpiece - Gazebo Gazebo Beta is on Facebook
High - Lighthouse Family I play the sh out of this one!
Look Me In The Heart - Tina Turner   in .wav  
Love, Thy Will Be Done - Martika   LOVE
Into The Blue - Moby (Junior Vasquez Remix) classic moby
Shine A Light (Soul Inspiration) - Simon Climie
I'm Specialized In You/Endless Road - Time Bandits a recent edit by Francesco Guerra of Endless Road
Typical - Frazier Chorus  download it
Heaven - Eurogliders  this is heaven
Wishful Thinking - China Crisis  enjoy it 
Waves - Blancmange  WAVES zip
What About This Love - Mr. Fingers Mr. Fingers
I'm Not At Home To Heartache - Perfect Alibi  download it
Soldier/Love Of My Own - Thomas Anders give it a listen
Love Is Energy - Joe Roberts  energy
Your Eyes - Groove Corporation download
Living Inside Me - Data  new wave morning music
Love Is The Groove - Betsy Cook/Cher  Jimmy M. Mix of Cher  BETSY COOK VERSION in .WAV
One And One - Robert Miles  did I ever play this one to death!
Let Us Dance Just A Little Bit More - Secret Service
Life Dance - Sonia Belolo listen to this beauty
Sailing Away - Chris DeBurgh  download it here
Sweet, Soft and Lazy - Viktor Lazslo  download
Spiritual High/Rainsong/ Wombtones - Moodswings
Make Your Own Kind Of Music - Mama Cass  now we're going way back
Never Can Say Goodbye - Yazz  motorcity mix
Unbreak My Heart/I Don't Want To (Frankie Knuckles Mixes) - Toni
Braxton listen to Toni FRANKIE'S MIX
Tomorrow Is Too Late - Primitive Fire  a primitive zip
Search For The Hero - M People   hear it
Why - Jackie Moore  hear
You Are Not Alone (Frankie Knuckles Mix) - Michael Jackson  Frankie Knuckles Mix

Lastly, here's a few recent "morning" songs for ya...

Baby Of The Year/I Can't Believe It's Over - Bent   get bent
Sing It To Your Heart - Jimmy Sommerville  STAY  listen to Sing it
Home (David Harness Taboo Vocal) - Simply Red
Still (Kelly G Club Mix) - Tamia
Looks Like Heaven - Peas
Lotta Love 2005 - Nicolette Larson a whole lotta Nicolette
Midnight At The Oasis 2005 - Maria Muldauar   lovely

In going through this blog you will find many from the list.  In the future I might even post some more. Happy Downloading!  Don't forget to click on the ads.  They are a way of showing your appreciation and as you can tell I spent a long time and used up a lot of effort making this the comprehensive post that it's become.

FEEL THE NEED IN ME DETROIT EMERALDS and not only

Originally released in 1971 Feel the Need in Me by The Detroit Emeralds came back as a Tom Moulton mix in 1977.  The guys were from Little Rock, Arkansas and had a few other minor hits but Feel the Need is considered their classic.  Original version and the Tom Moulton 1977 version

The disconet remix was featured in their Classics Program 1 and the download is even available on Amazon.  DISCONET REMIX

I love the label art on the Westbound Records U.S. 45 release in 1972.

But the definitive copy to have is Tom Moulton's Atlantic remix from 1977.  It became a morning music classic at The Saint and on Fire Island where d.j.'s like Susan Morabito had the good taste to spin it and bring it to a new audience.

Not that I'm really feeling it but for posterity I'll throw you the Genya Ravan version.

Why even child star turned strung out junkie Leif Garret threw out a version.  It was the title track from his l.p. which featured the smash hit I was Made for Dancin'.  An example of jumping on the disco bandwagon that worked out well.

Here he is lip synching on Italian television.