Dinner Music 101: The weekly lineup
disco, funk, folk and more from Billboard magazine in the 70s and 80s
This week we’re listening to albums that I found while digging through old PDF copies of Billboard magazine from the seventies and eighties. All of these are new to me and there’s not a single song on the playlist that I’d heard before I started putting this newsletter together. I didn’t set out with that intention, though it became clear, quickly, that I needed something fresh, something fun. Lots of disco, lots of funk, some underrated folk and blues. An age old question: how do we, as a culture, decide what sticks around and what fades away?
We begin with “one of the most beautiful but rarely heard albums” of the era, American Gothic from David Ackles. Dark Americana, and nearly vaudevillian, in it’s sound, the album sustains a storyline through its lyrics of a troubled landscape, its characters “imbued with fortitude and torn by considerable conflict.”1 Upon release, music critics called it “the Sgt. Pepper of folk” and the label, Elktra, prepped it to be the Album of the Year. Despite being overlooked, Ackles had fervent supporters, like Elton John, Elvis Costello and Phil Collins. We move into tough, southern, boogie rock from Navasota, a group from East Texas, who toured with Boston and Lynyrd Skynyrd and were produced by a few Steely Dan dudes. An impressive resumé and also the only facts available about the band that I can find (do you know more about this band or know any surviving members?? email me!). A similar unknowable figure, Boobie Knight, whose album’s funk is contagious, the kind you can’t hide from, that you must move to. This album rocks. Morgana King is not only known, she’s an icon, though not for the album featured here, Gemini Changes—King is best known for her role in The Godfather, playing the Corleone family matriarch. The album has a moody, haunting feeling, her voice carries like a spector, which balances the pop-twang-jazz quality, a nod toward her long career as a jazz club singer. We end with Breaking Point from Central Line, a stop-everything-and-dance kind of album.
Enjoy.
Monday
American Gothic - David Ackles (1977)
Spotify / YouTube / Other streaming services
Tuesday
Rootin’ - Navasota (1977)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Wednesday
Soul Ain’t No New Thing - Boobie Knight and the Soulciety (1972)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Thursday
Gemini Changes - Morgana King (1967)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
Breaking Point - Central Line (1981)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
BONUS
Pair with
Cider roasted pork loin. A dear friend made this for me last night and it does not disappoint. A perfect fall meal and a perfect meal to make for a tired friend just getting in from out of town.
Pink Gold Pet Nat. A very good, very candy-like (in the best way) pet nat from German winemaker Leon Gold.
Rebekah Peppler’s new cookbook. She is my favorite recipe developer and also seems like she might have the best life in the world?
The below (great!) essay on background music from
. I originally read it in the (also great) Dirt newsletter.
I have been in love with David Ackles’ music for about 15 years, I’ve pushed it on anyone who will listen but have yet to find a fellow fan. So, how surprising and wonderful it is to see love for him here. Thank you for introducing people to his beautiful music.