David Todd is an American disco and house musician and remixer. He was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Todd began his career in the music industry at a small retail record store in New York around 1970.
Because of his discriminating ear and extensive knowledge of dance music, he was invited to DJ at Fire Island's prestigious Ice Palace in 1971. [1] Todd continued to parlay his musical expertise and became the first working DJ to take a promotions and A&R role at a label for RCA Records. [2]
While at RCA, Todd introduced the "Latin Hustle" to Van McCoy, inspiring McCoy to record "The Hustle." [3] Some of David's remixes for the RCA label include "Shame" by Evelyn "Champagne" King, "Stubborn Kind of Fella" for Buffalo Smoke, and "Keep it Confidential" by former Labelle member, Nona Hendryx.
In the early 1980s, Todd returned to Philadelphia and served as the resident DJ for The Catacombs. During that time, he partnered with local DJ turned A&R man Nick Martinelli to form one of Philadelphia's most notable remix and productions teams since Gamble and Huff. [4]
Artist | Song Title | Label / Catalog Number | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Faith Hope & Charity | "Life Goes On" | RCA Victor Records – PD-10950 | 1976 |
Ralph Graham | "What Am I To Do" | RCA Records – JD-11038 | 1977 |
State Department | "Slow Love" | RCA Records – JD-11095 | 1977 |
Buffalo Smoke | "Stubborn Kind of Fella" | RCA Records – JD-11368 | 1977 |
New York Community Choir | "Express Yourself" / "Have A Good Time" | RCA Records – PD-11006 | 1977 |
Evelyn "Champagne" King | "Shame" | RCA Records PD-11213 | 1977 |
The Choice Four | "Come Down To Earth" / "Two Different Worlds" | RCA Victor – PD-11094 | 1977 |
The Skyliners | "The Love Bug (Done Bit Me Again)" | Tortoise International – YD-11345 | 1978 |
Dee Dee Sharp Gamble | "Breaking and Entering" | Philadelphia International Records – AS 918 | 1980 |
William DeVaughn | "Be Thankful For What You Got" | TEC Records – PR 102 | 1980 |
Rose Royce | "New Love" | Montage Records – MS 620 | 1981 |
Keni Burke | "Let Somebody Love You" | RCA Records – JD-1229 | 1981 |
Brandi Wells | "Watch Out (Club Version)" | WMOT Records – 1340 | 1981 |
The Funk Fusion Band | "Can You Feel It" | WMOT Records – 4W9 02416 | 1981 |
Chris Thomas | "Celebrity Funk" | DOC International Records – DC-101 | 1982 |
Tavares | "Got To Find My Way Back To You" | RCA Victor – PD-13434 | 1982 |
Stone | "Girl I Like The Way You Move" | West End Records – WES 22147(A) | 1982 |
Raw Silk | "Do It To The Music" | West End Records – WES 22148 | 1982 |
(B. T.) Brenda Taylor | "You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat it Too" | West End Records – WES 22149 | 1982 |
Mahogany | "Ride On The Rhythm" | West End Records – WES 22150 | 1982 |
Major Harris | "I Want Your Love" | Buzz International – VIBE 1 T | 1983 |
Major Harris | "All My Life" | London Records – 810 276-1 | 1983 |
Rocket | "Here Comes My Love" | Quality Records – QUS 033 | 1983 |
Fredi Grace & Rhinestone | "Head Over Heels" | RCA Records – PB 3498 | 1983 |
Evelyn "Champagne" King | "Action" | RCA Records – PC-3683 | 1983 |
Nona Hendryx | "Keep It Confidential" | RCA Victor – PD-13438 | 1983 |
Sunfire | "Video Queen" | Warner Brothers – 0-20150 | 1983 |
Shirley Lites | "Heat You Up (Melt You Down)" | West End Records – WES 22155A | 1983 |
Raw Silk | "Just In Time" | West End Records – WES 22159 | 1983 |
Sybil Thomas | "Rescue Me" | West End Records – WES 22160 | 1983 |
Bonnie Pointer | "Premonition" | Private I Records – 311118 | 1984 |
La Toya Jackson | "Hot Potato" | Private I Records – 4Z9 05074 | 1984 |
Mikki featuring Starz | "Dance Lover" | Rams Horn Records – RHR 3412 | 1985 |
Evelyn "Champagne" King | "High Horse" | RCA Records – PW 13409 | 1985 |
Kim Wilde | "Say You Really Want Me" | MCA Records – MCA-23678(B) | 1986 |
Janice McClain | "Passion and Pain" | MCA Records, Ltd. – MC 1109 | 1986 |
Fat Larry's Band | "Sunrise Sunset" | Omni Records/Atlantic DMD 956 | 1986 |
Fat Larry's Band | "Teach Me (There is Something About Love)" | Omni Records/Atlantic - DMD 991 | 1986 |
Regina Belle | "You've Got The Love" | CBS Records (Canada) – REBE T1 | 1987 |
Regina Belle | "How Could You Do It To Me?" | Columbia Records – 38-07735 | 1987 |
Tracie Spencer | "Symptoms of True Love" | Capitol Records – 12CLX 490(B) | 1988 |
Rick James | "Sexual Luv Affair" | Reprise Records – 0-21036 | 1988 |
George Benson | "Let's Do It Again" | Warner Brothers Records - 0-21071 | 1988 |
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's Black gay underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.
The twelve-inch single is a type of vinyl gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compared to LPs which have several songs on each side. It is named for its 12-inch (300 mm) diameter. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the mastering engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality. This record type is commonly used in disco and dance music genres, where DJs use them to play in clubs. They are played at either 33+1⁄3 or 45 rpm. The conventional 7-inch single usually holds three or four minutes of music at full volume. The 12-inch LP sacrifices volume for extended playing time.
Vicki Sue Robinson was an American singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around".
The Hustle is a catch-all name for some disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s. Late 1970s, Bump, Hustle, Watergate and Spank were popular. It mostly refers to the unique partner dance done in nightclubs to disco music. Hustle has steps in common with Mambo and Salsa and basic steps are somewhat similar to Euro dance style "discofox", which emerged at about the same time and is more familiar in various European countries. Modern partner hustle is sometimes referred to as New York hustle, however, its original name is the Latin hustle.
Avco Records was a record label started by music producers/composers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore together with film and TV producer Joseph E. Levine in 1968 as Avco Embassy Records.
Todd Norton Terry is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. His productions helped define the New York house scene in the 1990s and used extensive samples that blend the sounds of classic disco, the Chicago house sound, and elements of hip-hop. He has remixed a wide variety of artists.
Joshua Winkelman, better known by his stage name Josh Wink, is an American electronic dance music DJ, label owner, producer, and remixer. He is a native of Philadelphia, United States. A pioneering DJ in the American rave scene during the early 1990s, Wink was the most prominent exponent of the tribal forms of techno and house in the U.S. In 1995, he released several hits, including "Don't Laugh", "I'm Ready", and "Higher State of Consciousness," which topped the dance charts in Europe. He has had many club hits such as "How's Your Evening So Far?" and "Superfreak (Freak)" and has also gained much attention for his remixes of Stabbing Westward, FC Kahuna, Paul Oakenfold, Moby, Towa Tei, Ladytron and Depeche Mode, among others.
Van Allen Clinton McCoy was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and singer. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful hit "The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his credit, and produced songs by such recording artists as Brenda & the Tabulations, David Ruffin, The Stylistics, The Presidents, Faith, Hope & Charity, New Censation, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Aretha Franklin, Peaches & Herb, Lesley Gore, and Stacy Lattisaw.
Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre. Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, and a string of albums in the 1970s and early 1980s.
First Choice is an American girl group and vocal music trio from Philadelphia. Their R&B and disco hits included "Armed and Extremely Dangerous", "Smarty Pants", "The Player ", "Guilty", "Love Thang", and "Doctor Love". They were signed to soul label Philly Groove and to disco label Gold Mind, and later to Warner Bros. and Salsoul.
Janek Schaefer is a British avant-garde artist, musician, composer, inventor, and entertainer, known for performing and exhibiting his work around the world with sound and installation art. Schaefer has released 37 albums, runs Lucky Dip Disco, and his own label, audiOh! Recordings.
"The Hustle" is a disco song by songwriter/arranger Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. It went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts during the summer of 1975. It also peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian RPM charts, No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart and No. 3 in the UK. It would eventually sell over one million copies. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance early in 1976 for songs recorded in 1975.
Zulema Cusseaux, usually credited as Zulema, was an American disco and R&B singer and songwriter. Aside from her solo career, she was a member of an early line up of Faith, Hope and Charity and worked as a backing vocalist and songwriter with Aretha Franklin.
James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in pop, rock, R&B, soul, disco, and country music. He played with the Malaco Rhythm Section for Malaco Records. In the 1990s, he was the president of Giant Records and held several credits as a session drummer. He later worked for DreamWorks Records Nashville and in 2008 founded his own label, Stroudavarious Records.
Raw Silk was an American dance band which originated in New York.
Vincent "Vince" DeGiorgio is a Canadian DJ, record producer, music publisher and songwriter.
The Catacombs Nightclub was a gay after-hours club in Philadelphia that played underground dance music, a precursor to house music. Additionally, Catacombs was responsible for the creation of the dance music genre "Philly Classics". The club was a cultural center for music industry professionals and artists of diverse backgrounds in the early 1980s.
Leroy Leon Pendarvis is an American session musician. He plays keyboards and is a background vocalist. He is also an occasional guitarist. The artists he has worked with over the years include Bonnie Raitt on Streetlights (1974), Van McCoy on Disco Baby (1975), Barbra Streisand on Songbird (1978), Eric Clapton on August (1986), Don Johnson on Let It Roll (1989), Avril Lavigne on "Keep Holding On" (2006), and many more. He was at one time a member of the group Passion. He is also the musical director and conductor for NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) Band, with which he has played since 1980. Since 1986 he has been a member of The Blues Brothers band. He was the husband of singer and chorist Janice Pendarvis, who sang for Roberta Flack, Sting, Philip Glass, David Bowie, and the Naked Brothers Band.
"We Got Love" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Terry Britten that was first recorded by British soul group, The Real Thing. It was produced by the American R&B and pop record producer, Nick Martinelli, and released on the RCA label, both as a 7-inch single, and a 12-inch extended play version, in October 1984.