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Put Some Disco in your Xmas

DJ Alex Gutierrez / Rewind 1039 / SFDJA

It’s the holidays, everyone’s over the house when suddenly somebody yells ” Put on some Christmas music !!” Instead of the usual Elvis ” Blue Christmas ” or the Bing Crosby standards we usually hear around this time why don’t you take them back ,way back to the 70s ,when even Christmas wasn’t immune to the Disco fever !! ( after all you are wearing a polyester sweater) So here are some of your choices when you want to put a little Disco in your Holidays !!

Probably THE most popular choice to ” Discofy” any party is ” Salsoul’s Christmas Jollies” released in 1976( Probably the First ” XMAS DISCO RECORD “) Produced by Vince Montana Jr and even includes vocals by Denise Montana who sang ” You’re My Number 1 DJ” on Goody Goody’s LP. If you are lucky to find the vinyl version snatch it up as the CD Re-Issue appears to be Edited and even includes “remixes” of certain tracks. “Some of the arrangements on the tracks were also changed, and not for the better. In fact, some of them sound terrible. The new Silent Night is just one example with an acoustic piano drowning out everything else. That piano piece is an overdub. It was not in the original recording. Overall, the quality of the sound on this CD is ‘tinny’, as though they had held up a transistor radio to a tape recorder to re-record the music. Somebody attempted to re-engineer the original and messed up the sound quality pretty badly. This CD lacks the heavy, throbbing rhythm and bass that the vinyl LP had.
Overall though both volumes provide the most ” Disco Christmas ” Bang for the buck. The Rest are pretty standard Christmas fare with a disco beat backing up the tracks. Nice background music for the beginning of a holiday party but that’s it! Not rockin’ disco like I thought it should be.

 

Of course Wham’s Last Christmas released on Epic Records in 1984 , is a modern day Christmas Classic worthy of a mention ( although not Disco) but my favorite in capturing the mood and on the laid back side as opposed to the more energetic ” Christmas Jollies’ Is the Whisper’s Christmas Album . All the standard Holiday hits but with that soulful feel that only The Whispers could have delivered. I personally, strongly recommend this one in addition to the Salsoul one, those two should give you that old school holiday feel you desire. Happy Holidays !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0vZDAqzB8k

 

Honorable Mentions are as follows ….. but keep in mind the production values decrease dramatically.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGOR5DRBshE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hPdUvN1uxE

 
 
 
 
 
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Alex Gutierrez Blog Music

TOP 10 DISCO COUNTDOWN ( Miami Edition)

DJ Alex Gutierrez Miami / Rewind 1039/SFDJA

We’re a little more High Energy here in the Magic City. North of us in New York and Chicago back in the day , Disco music was grittier and more urban. Lower BPMs dominated the dancefloor. Here is my choice based on reaction at the time and throughout the years.

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Alex Gutierrez Blog Music

Someone Left the Cake out in The Rain

LIVE AND MORE ALBUM COVER

DJ Alex Gutierrez/Rewind 1039/SFDJA

32 years later it’s still there

Today, November 11 back in 1978 Donna Summer started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with her version of Jimmy Webb’s ‘MacArthur Park’, also a hit for actor Richard Harris in 1968, (made No.5 in the UK). Also on this day Summer went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Live And More’. MacArthur Park” was composed by Jimmy Webb. Richard Harris recorded it in 1968 .This track was covered by many artists, including a 1969 Grammy-winning version by country music singer Waylon Jennings and a number one Billboard Hot 100 disco arrangement by Donna Summer in 1978. The 18-minute version of Donna’s “MacArthur Park Suite” incorporated the original songs “One of a Kind” and “Heaven Knows“, all huge nightclub hits for her.

In 2013, the song was remixed by Laidback Luke  for the Donna Summer remix album Love To Love You Donna , not my favorite . I much prefer the  Ralphi Rosario version which was true to the original vision of Moroder and Bellotte, having a successful peaking at No. 1, giving Summer her first posthumous No. 1 .

 

https://youtu.be/LY4AMZsIDE8

 

 
 

 

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Blog Music

” Jerusalema” The New ” Macarena”?

DJ Alex Gutierrez / SFDJA / Miami

Electric Slide, Macarena, Cha Slide , move over there’s a new line dance in town and Wedding DJs all over the world can’t wait to get back to business and start playing this track.

“Jerusalema” is a song by South African DJ and record producer Master KG featuring South African vocalist Nomcebo released globally in February of 2020 and has been streamed over 90 million times since. A dance challenge, attributed to a group of Angolan friends performing the choreography in a video, helped the song go viral online. The #JerusalemaChallenge, which has been compared to the Macarena craze spawned dance videos from many countries, including Italy, Spain, France, Jamaica and Canada. Sung in Zulu, the song’s lyrics are spiritual in nature. “Jerusalem is my home / Guide me / Take me with You / Do not leave me here,” The upbeat track is a plee to God to take the singer to the heavenly place..

The DJ OZZ edit gives the track a boost in energy, with an energetic intro, mixing in some Carribean flavors with the original South African flavors, a combination that works well here and is extremely friendly for DJs looking to introduce this into their sets. The video edit by South Florida DJ Association’s own DJ Leo Miami incorporates footage from different dance groups around the world giving it a more international feel.

For more info Go this Link Jerusalema – DJ Ozz Edit

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Alex Gutierrez Blog Music

Rewind 1039 : BATTLE OF THE HITS Honey Moon in Puerto Rico vs Shine On Silver Moon

DJ Alex Gutierrez / Rewind 1039

Battle of the Hits is a popular feature on the Rewind 1039 Facebook page created by DJ Alex Gutierrez seen and commented on by over 20,000 people daily. Two tracks from the 70s and 80s are selected and the audience is given the difficult task to select just one.

Paul Jabara, also known as Paul Frederick Jabara, (January 31, 1948 – September 29, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter of Lebanese ancestry, born in Brooklyn, New York City. He wrote Donna Summer‘s Oscar-winning “Last Dance” from Thank God It’s Friday (1978) as well “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” her international hit duet with Barbra Streisand. He also cowrote The Weather Girls iconic hit “It’s Raining Men” (with Paul Shaffer).

The song Shine on Silver Moon was written by Gene Allan and Gary Knight and was first released by Adam Wade in 1977. It was covered by Gloria Gaynor and Ron Libby. It became a huge Disco Hit for McCoo and Davis in 1978.  McCoo is married to 5th Dimension bandmate Billy Davis Jr. On July 26, 2019, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

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Blog

On the Boat with PAGE 99 ” SEPTEMBER”

Yachtcutation is a program I host on Yacht Rock Miami we pride ourselves in diving deep and discovering Past, Present and Future musical treasures that represent the smooth qualities of Yacht Rock that will make it ” On the Boat” 

Page 99 is a new generation of Yacht Rock and AOR…Inspired by the US West Coast music of the 1970’s and 80’s, Page 99 definitely has the ” Bounce” down to a T on their track ” September” There are lots of influences present on this upbeat track, you can hear the musicianship of some of the greats Jeff Porcaro, Jay Graydon while still enjoying a fresh new take on the era.

The Page 99 concept is similar to that of the Yacht Rock era where it is built with the vision of individual “for-hire” musicians filling in around the two stable members: John H. Nixon (Drums, keys, synths, rhythm guitars, vocals, track arrangement, production, mixing, mastering, etc. and Russel David Fitzpatrick (vocals, and all vocal arrangements). All the other parts are session players from all over including Detroit, California, Philadelphia, Pisa Italy and more.

In just of few short weeks of regular rotation on www.yachtrockmiami.com fans from all over the world have made this track one of the most requested songs on the station at 803 -999-SAIL (7245)

Buy the Track Here Page 99 -September

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Alex Gutierrez Blog

KYGO Remix of Donna Summer’s ” Hot Stuff ” is Warm

It’s not terrible, it’s actually OK, but if he had access to the master recordings was this the best he could do? I would kill ( calm down…not like really kill ) to be able to remix any Disco classic with the original masters in hand , let alone a Donna Summer track. Let’s just blame his age he’s only about 29 years old. The video is cute . An obvious attempt to entice young listeners . They even dance Disco briefly , before they take off their clothes ( not that there’s anything wrong with that )

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Blog

Miami Beat 305 presents a unique lineup of Cuban Djs from around the world

DJ Leo Perez, longtime Miami DJ is the force behind the new station ” Miami Beat 305″ which specializes in presenting DJs of Cuban origins. It’s refreshing to hear these young talented individuals programming everything from their native Cubaton, to Disco music. Pay particular attention to their 90s dance music selection since this was the period when most of them began. Their styles are definitely not mainstream and provide the listener with a new approach to programming. Miami Beat 305 also supports local artists. Listen to them at this Link. MIAMIBEAT305 music starts at 4 pm.

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Alex Gutierrez Blog Music

Yacht Rock Miami Celebrates it’s 4th Year ” Smooth Sailing”

Two guys in Hawaiian Shirts and captain’s hats playing soft rock from the 70s and 80s is the way we pitched our show to local bars and clubs. Needless to say , we got a lot of funny looks, but a few decided to take ” The Plunge” into the cool , refreshing waters of Yacht Rock Miami. The are rules in Yacht Rock , set by the mighty Yacht Gods somewhere in California. We adhered , we studied the ” ways’ , the sound, the mood , we faced the devil himself and were not tempted with the empty promises of ” Margaritaville and even though the sailors said ” Brandy ” we were strong. Then we began searching deep within our own ” Yacht Souls ” searching for those songs that were present on our Yacht here in South Florida and re-discovered a treasure chest of tunes that we had to bring on deck for all to hear.  Sweet Freedom !! Yacht Rock Miami was born, the sound unique , calming , and so so SMOOTH. Captain Juan Luv at the helm created a station where all Yacht Rockers all over the world could unite and partake in Audio Stimulation . Captain G at his side , sometimes steering course to uncharted waters where together they would discover beautiful and tranquil melodies that would soothe and heal humanity who was headed towards a musical apocalypse.

Now the Captains with purpose, Ride like the Wind  provide a steady stream of Certified Yacht, Smooth Classics, and Contemporary Cool Vibes available on a variety of platforms Roku, Tune In Radio, myRadio, as well as on www.yachtrockmiami.com

Available for Club and Bar Dates Call or Email juan@volksmusikdj.com djalexgutierrez@yahoo.com 786-201-5070 or 803-999-SAIL

 

Facebook Link https://www.facebook.com/yachtrockmiami

 

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Alex Gutierrez Blog Events Music

Los 3 Feos Entertainment presents ” Fania All Stars Live in Africa”

Alex Gutierrez/ Miami

 

In 1974, at the peak of New York City’s Salsa explosion, the Fania All-Stars, a group that brought together several of the Fania record label’s most popular artists, were invited to perform in front of 80,000 people at a stadium in Zaire, Africa the Stadu du Hai in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) as part of the build-up to the Muhammad Ali / George Foreman fight.With performances by Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, and an incredible dance demonstration from Roberto Roena ( Which is one of my favorite moments Click Here ) and of course the All-Stars’  which include Johnny Pacheco, Santos Colon, Cheo Feliciano, Larry Harlow, Bobby Valentin, Ray Barretto and more. Captured on film by director Leon Gast with help from Albert Maysles originally released in 1986. Live In Africa is great film to enjoy with the whole family and an excellent teachable moment to share with younger generations who may not have been exposed to this caliber of musicianship. 

If you missed them then, Don’t Miss them now !!

Live in Africa will be shown on Friday September 25 at 8pm at The Dade County Youth Fair Grounds located on Coral Way and 109th Avenue, and has space for 150 cars. Large video screens will be set up in corner areas, and there will also be an outdoor stage for live performances and concerts.

DJ Alex Gutierrez ( ALCAZABA , Mezanotte , Cafe Iguana , 609 ) will perform a Classic Salsa set before the start of the film , showcasing some of the hottest Salsa of the Era.

Drive-In at The Fair showcases classic motion pictures and family-friendly movies, live performances, events, concerts and theater, all at a social distance that allows visitors to enjoy al fresco entertainment from the safety of their cars.

You can pre-order food for delivery to your car. The menu includes traditional movie concession options like hot dogs, popcorn and nachos with cheese among many others. Prices range from $2-$6.

 

Movies are showing Fridays through Sundays at varying times. Tickets are $11 person, but admission is free for kids 15 and younger. Click here to see movie titles and showtimes.