The Real Sound of Chicago and Beyond
Description
Chicago. A place celebrated the world over for the talent of its musicians spanning across countless genres of music. You name it—Soul, Funk, Rock, Jazz, Blues, etc. In modern times, Chicago’s Dance floors have had a worldwide reputation for House music; it’s a sound that has pretty much reached to areas all across the globe. Yet, in the early developmental stages of the Chicago Dance era (mid-late 1970’s to early 1980’s), there were scores of musicians recording Dance music, hoping to be the next mainstream success story. As it goes, for the artists in this compilation—it didn’t quite turn out that way. Budget problems, the politics of the time, being told, “I don’t like it”, or simply having the door slammed in their face, is what many of these artists were faced with instead.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the musicianship that these artists possessed by far equals—even defined—the infinite status of what today’s market calls “Good Music”.
For over a decade now, we, Mark Grusane and Mike Cole, have been distributing rare Dance gems across the globe. Being the music enthusiasts that we are, we opted to bring the art of record collecting to a higher level. So, 7 years ago, while the both of us were walking down the street ‘talking vinyl’, we decided to open a record store. Thus, Mr. Peabody Records was born. Now…that name doesn’t quite fit two Black guys from the south side of Chicago according to some folks’ equation, but according to our math—it would work. And it did. As a result, we’ve spent many years travelling to various destinations, home and abroad, in an effort to snare every possible unique vinyl gem we could get our hands on. To support this massive record collecting habit, we would sell widely diverse and eclectic assortments of collectible vinyl globally to fellow vinyl-heads who shamelessly shared this same addictive passion. Being both vintage collectors as well as dance-floor DJs, our selections gravitate toward rare and un-played Dance material from the past, with of course a few modern day exceptions.
Warning: We are pretty strict in our programming, so expect nothing but the best. Originally, this series of RSOC compilations was to be the musical insight from the Black underground Dance material made in Chicago. But after further thought we decided to provide Dance music from all around the world as well, since we did not want to limit ourselves in the scope of what we present, as we are well versed with Dance music on a global scale. We know that you, the listeners and lovers of good music, will appreciate and love these selections from areas outside Chicago as well. It is also important to us that those non-native Chicagoan artists receive their just dues as well. So, without further ado, we at Mr. Peabody Records, and BBE, present to you: THE REAL SOUND OF CHICAGO & BEYOND!