Glad to be a babyboomer born in 55 and partied my butt off at NY clubs in the late 70's and 80's @ places like the famous or should I say, infamous.... "Paradise Garage" ...featuring Larry Levan...OMG...we had a ball....This song puts me right back there...Freeeeeeeee mannnnn!!!.......Just downloaded it!
CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS ONLY TEN YEARS OLD WHEN THIS CAME OUT!! THE MUSIC IS SO FRESH THE LYRICS IS GREAT!! THE MAN THEN THE WOMAN!! SHE HAS A HIGH VOICE THAT FOOLS ME AT FIRST! OH BTY I'M 47 YEARS OLD NOW!!
I was 24 when this came out and me and the rest of the "kids" were kickin' it at the Olympia Ballroom in West Philly -- when we weren't at the Garage in NY, or the Clubhouse in DC. Great music! Fabulous drugs! And dancing till the sun came up!
@Mission94110 ...finally! Someone remembers the Olympics! Ever been to the parties on Brandywine Street (PHILADANCO) with Richard Zellers spinning records...or Smart Place with Brandon....every weekend a different house party and then off to Catacombs ! Those were the days !
I remember KSFX in San Francisco that played this song way back then . I was 12 going on 13 when this came out and loved this song . Still makes my 48 year old self get up and dance till this day !
HAVE MERCY!! LETS DANCE!!..PHILLY TO MY SOUL!!.I THOUGHT I DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN AND AT 500 WATTS YOU FEEL IT IN YOUR BONES.. THANK YOU SOUTH SHORE COMISSION A JOB WELL DONE..TOM MOULTON ALWAYS THE MAESTRO..LETS KEEP THIS MUSIC, AND ALL MUSIC ALIVE..XX BG..
Music like this makes me wish I was born in the 70s so I could've went to amazing clubs like Paradise Garage! Nowadays, are there even real clubs period?
Used to take the E or F train from Queens, head to the 40dowop, hang out at Ipanema's on 52nd Street and Broadway till 4ish then head on to the afterhours, La Bamba in Queens and come out of there at 11:00 am looking ike a zombie, sleep all day and then repeat.
I been telling everyone so many times, Instant Funk were the rhythm section on super hot cut! Although its easy to think this was H-B-Y, Harris Baker and Young, but indeed it was Instant Funk. Listen to Theodore T Life on that guitar at 3.43 Raymond Earl, Kim and Scotty Miller jamming at 4.50 and yes that's Vince Montana at 5.09. Scotty sounds so much like Earl Young kickiin those drums you swear it WAS him!! This is the sound of philly at its best!
This was one among several individual songs that you can say were a Paradise Garage anthem. This was the bomb! OMG! That break with the vibes was off the hook! I remember being on the boardwalk open air on the roof. You know what I'm talking about if you lived the Garage. I was bouncing all over the place. DAMN that Garage was like no other place in space and time.
@pluggedin2u The Garage was PARADISE.. Pure Class Pure Magic..This song was a dance floor filler couldn't get enough of it...Happy times, we will never ever pass this way again...I am glad I was their to taste it feel it LOVED it all!! Ooohh the memories!!! Thank you my friend for the memories!! BIG SMILE Peace N Love!
Clubs usually played the 5 minute version...Great song to hustle to in the early days. The bass made the whole building shudder, it was maybe the Second Story in Phila .... not sure I can remember the place, stained glass windows on the walls of the stairway....don't remember much about that night, but I know I made it home with the 12" mix in my hand and it was winter. DJ's would give up their old copies if they knew you and had another one or two.
damn, this was a serious hustle song at clubs in Manhattan like Pippins, Othellos, LeMartinique, and Silver Shadow. Man, a good time was had by all in those days without fear of being robbed or shot when they left the club at sunrise. Those were truly "the good ole days"
Gurl, I'm a free man and braggin bout it.....YES! And I'm braggin bout bein lucky enough to have been born in 62 in an era when 16 and 17 year olds routinely hit the best clubs in NY and Philly - Paradise Garage, baby! The club era - up to around 83 or 84 - will never be excelled - nor will the music (like this sawng) Thank you for posting
@fruityblack TRIPPING MY TITS OFF AT THE GALLERY NICKY SCIANO PLAYED THIS TIL THE SUN CAME UP...WORKING THE TREBLE AND BASS TIL THE CHILDREN SCREAMED IN ECSTASY ..THOSE WERE THE DAYS ...THEN HE WOULD USE JET PLANE SOUND EFFECTS AND BRING IN MFSB LOVE IS THE MESSAGE ....THE KIDS WOULD SWING THE HUGE MIRROR BALL TIL IT FELL ON THE DANCE FLOOR...BOBBY TAYLOR ....
for anyone who remembers.....FEW records worked the "kids" into a frenzie like this one ( Well, maybe Chi-Lites My First Mistake, or Black Ivory Mainline, or....) The Garage, and all of our other "palaces" grand, or not so much, if they're still standing, have this music and OUR SWEAT etched into the walls........CHEERS TO US!!!!!
@burres48 ...hi...I actually have all of that on vinyl...I also love Blue Magic's Look Me Up (same LP)..check out my favorites...tons of scarce back in the day classics...God I miss those days and so many friends who aren't around anymore. Thanks,Bob
I remember stomping on the floor running around 1015! Wow, I miss those days....get your hand stamped during a marathon, come back hours later and jack more, until you stepped into the sunlight dripping wet with sweat!!!!
news flash peeps, back in the day (1973-1978 lots of lp tracks were pressed onto acetate for easy access by dj's & small promotion companies. they usually had limited play time as they lost there fidelity quickly. freeman(an lp cut), was no exception & the acetate version of "limited" pressing is the same as the lp version. the record company pressed "we're on the right track" on 12,' that the song they originally promoted as a single. innovative dj's heard the lp & started playing "freeman."
It was an acetate given out by Mel Cherin of Scepter Records to a few (less than 10 DJs)---then a white label 12" pressing was given to NYC DJs--One of the first 12" if not THE FIRST given to us.
Tom Moulton WAS given credit for this as his name is on the single AND on South Shore Commissions LP which had the new 12" version on it.
@Discotized A Free Man is the American National Athem in this day and age...For all men who did not do it right the first time....Thank you SouthSide/South Shore Commission
@MizzCocoa36 : YESSS!!! At Mendel sweating like it's a rain storm in there. Slam dancing and at the 3:35 to 4:10 mark spinning out of control. -CVS Class of '86 here...
No one could or would or will ever beat this shyt like Ronnie..Beat that shyt Ronnie..R.I.P....He was a magician on the tables..when i first went to the box after going to medusa's i was srung in 87...he had people crying..looking like they was on drugs...
This is the essential club cut for me. Ron Hardy would beat the hell out of that break. Frankie at the 1015 served it differently, but I enjoyed all of it.
Frankie did and still TOTALLY DOES serve. Every time I pass by 1015 N. Halsted to this very day I look for that door with the address on it and take a breath and scream inside. (Everything else around it is torn down.)
Btw, LaRay in in the eternal pantheon, 2 ! The music was like thunder and the kids were a complete gag. And don't start remembering Talent Nights. Lawd, lawd, lawd.
@ThePrinceChannel ....you must have been followin' me!! Or was I followin" you??!! Gotta say we sho nuff partied back in the day!! Non-stop.... from one club to another!!
@ezywonder Damn! I too get a lil misty every time I pass by 1015!!! Hella memories...coming out there @ 9am...greeted by sunshine and folks looking at you like U were insane!! LOL!!
Great songs like this had straight people bragging about enjoying themselves in Chicago Gay clubs like LaRays back in the day. I've yet to hear a niteclub sound system that could compete with LaRays.
I am also a mendelman of 86. ronnie g in the house. As the unofficially house dancer of the class, this was my jam and NO the kids of today have nothing that compares to losing it on the dancefloor to this cut. It is like church when the break ends and the bass is thrown back in until your body rocks from the vibes. Cannot be compared. This is actually a 2 shirt song. I would sweat through my clothes at the bi-level jams and need to go to the car and change shirts.
Got the Chicago House Bootleg 12 inch on Lost Records Label. With the Trammps, "What Happened To The Music" on side B. Born in 67, mixed this in 1987. South Side, Low End, The Fort, Sheeba, The Nimbus, The Playground, Warehouse, Markham Roller Rink, Warehouse, Divinci Manor, the College, Sauers.
Another disco megahit to the real party crowd. Underground dee jays pushed this one hard in the clubs of Gotham...especially the gay clubs in the village who specialized in funk. The 45' was the only version for a while before the 12' dropped. We'd buy two copies for back to back lengthy sophisticated funk because that's what they wanted.
...you can't possibly imagine the energy that this song generated at the gay clubs...it was the same for alot of our "signature" anthems...y'all know which ones and this is one of them......
South Shore Commission was an R&B/funk group from Washington D.C. Members included Frank McCurry, Sheryl Henry, Sidney Lennear and Eugene Rogers. They charted three Hot 100 songs, the most popular of which, "Free Man," hit #61 in 1975 and went to #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart
The break down at 4:09 pure genious...musical precision. And somebody is plucking the hell out of that bass and who'd a thought a xylophone could sound so funky!
You seem to be a xilo lover so if you don't know them yet, I advise you many of ROY AYERS songs, which contains a lot of it, musically exceptionnal...^^
I remember dancing to this at a gay bar with a gay friend/neighbor from my building on Bleecker St who died over 20 years ago. The bar was called the Chalice and it was up the block from the Ninth Circle on W 10th Street right in the block from 7th Ave. Everytime I hear this song I think of the nights he would invite me out dancing in The Village carefree in our 20s in 1975...
Wow! That's an awesome story. Thank you for sharing. 1975, was the year i was born. I always said I was born too late. I would of loved to have experienced life in the 70s.
i'm the uncle of this UTube subscriber.I lived nearby at 88 Charles, NYU by day and at night...first stop Julius's for a burger and the free peanuts, then smokin joints up/down Christopher St, then warm up at the Stonewall in preparation for the BIG TIME at Paradise, Roseland or the Garage where this music was hot, sweaty and all night,,, ahhh, those magical innocent, carefree, careless years... (somehow ended up at the trucks 4 a "nitecap" ... :)
Those were the days, dancing at 12 West, God I would give anything to go back for just one day and night. The neighborhood is so different now, was down there on Halloween.
Damn man, I love the connections that the internet allows us! I hit NYC in 75 and frequented Julius, the Chalice, Ninth Circle, Kellers, Peter Rabbits, and a couple of yrs later the Garage! Made it to the trucks and piers often enough too! Thanks for all the good memories! And good to know that there's some of us left!
I love this song. You know those songs that when you hear them in the club, or in the discotheque, you just had to get up and dance?This is one of those songs!!!
This jam here was one of the the trailblazers in NYC during the days of Pete Dj Jones, Grandmaster Flash, and Flowers. Clubs like the Loft, and the Headrest in the city lead the way with jams like this. They didn't have the 12's then, so all of us deejays were buying two copies to run back to back. This remix here came later on for sure.
Hustled to this one at LeJardin, NYC. Recently read about the DJs and Tom Moulton from this era and now have an appreciation of the art. Back then at age 17, all I knew was that this music was like nothing I ever heard before. Thinking back, these guys were the definition of innovation. Not only did music change for the better but it also had an impact on society. The clubs were filled with people (straight, gay, white, black, latin, asian) that had a common bond - the music.
OMG!!!!! Thanks Oneguys 11 and EdgardosGirl81204 for clearing up the debate about who sang the song. Went to the house music fest in Newark and, after 30 years, finally heard the lyrics. Damn. I thought it was a guy singing to another guy. I thought I had to rethink the song. Cool. ...Party on....
Oh Yeah , my Senior year,1975!! This was the theme song when you broke up with that pain in a neck girlfriend who gave you such a hard time everyday!!! Ha! Ha!!
Now this is some Powerplant/Den One/Rialtos/Fosters/The Ritz Shit!!! The Children carried on so!! Memories...by the time you were all up in the song you had to start hollerin' and yellin'! Many a drink was spilled on this one...Chi-town up in here!!
OMG! I have been in search for this song for a very long time. I was 10-yrs-old when this came out. I remember dancing all over the Brooklyn apartment to this cut. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
If it was two men or a man and a woman, I loved this song! Frankie, thank you for taking us to Heaven at the Powerplant with this cut. This was real partying back in the day.
Now that is old school music! All you young folks sit down and take notes! This is real music, real instruments and real voices. The way it supposed to be done!
Around 04:10/...It's buildin you up,so that when it finally gets to 05:10/ you loose your damn mind..An I can kinda see how you could get confused with the voices cause they go back an forth an her voice sounds a little similar to his so I think it was just easier to ride with the gay story...It's cool to finally hear the truth behind it...But regardless of what the rumor was this still is the shit.........
Sorry 17mark as much as you would like this to be a gay song with two dude's singing to each other it's a woman singing to a man please listen closely she has a deep voice but its a woman
I'm pretty sure it was the MFSB players on this one anyway, Bobby Eli def. played on it, and you can hear Vince Montana. Instant Funk played on 'I'd Rather Switch Than Fight'.
Bunny Sigler as far as I know was straight, or in any case, an R&B singer that sung about girls (and a PIR employee to boot).
The group were as far as I know, formed from funk band The X-Citers and Chicago soul group The 5 Dutones.
Guess who doing that music,,, believe it or not its Instant Funk with Bunny Seglar handling the productions, Oh and yes that was a gay song. One that Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff turn down for productions.
They did not want to be associated with homosexual songs.
Hit #1 on Record World's disco chart for 1 week in June 1975
theonlymoo5e 1 month ago
holy grail of disco singles? that sounds SOOO NICE!
pastcineo 2 months ago
Glad to be a babyboomer born in 55 and partied my butt off at NY clubs in the late 70's and 80's @ places like the famous or should I say, infamous.... "Paradise Garage" ...featuring Larry Levan...OMG...we had a ball....This song puts me right back there...Freeeeeeeee mannnnn!!!.......Just downloaded it!
ladylovin1 3 months ago 2
@ladylovin1 Yup, Larry werked this like no one else could
maumau256 2 weeks ago
CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS ONLY TEN YEARS OLD WHEN THIS CAME OUT!! THE MUSIC IS SO FRESH THE LYRICS IS GREAT!! THE MAN THEN THE WOMAN!! SHE HAS A HIGH VOICE THAT FOOLS ME AT FIRST! OH BTY I'M 47 YEARS OLD NOW!!
brokerightfoot1 3 months ago
I was 17 when this song came out! A Classic!
WILDSTYLENYC 4 months ago
Zanzibar
morganhill69 5 months ago
Yes, but like Kool Herc of Hip-Hop Tom Mouton has not been given proper credit for his contribution to this music!!
BodyContactContract 5 months ago
Yes!
I was 24 when this came out and me and the rest of the "kids" were kickin' it at the Olympia Ballroom in West Philly -- when we weren't at the Garage in NY, or the Clubhouse in DC. Great music! Fabulous drugs! And dancing till the sun came up!
Mission94110 5 months ago
@Mission94110 ...finally! Someone remembers the Olympics! Ever been to the parties on Brandywine Street (PHILADANCO) with Richard Zellers spinning records...or Smart Place with Brandon....every weekend a different house party and then off to Catacombs ! Those were the days !
dirtyedna 5 months ago
Brings back memories listening to Timmy Regisford mix on WBLS
Gracian40 5 months ago
TURN OUT MODE IS IN EFFECT!!! YEAH!!!!!!
moidounltd2 6 months ago
Luv the song... Initially didn't notice the lyrical content but regardless it's still a relatable & hot dance record.
I'm in NJ where are all the House parties.. Someone send me sum info
curlymoptop 6 months ago
IT'S GOING DOWN....7/9/2011 COME ON HOUSEHEADS,...R.I.P NICOLE!!!
mizzjuicy38 6 months ago
Paradise garage and club Zanzibar...nothing more to say
kylehaith1 7 months ago
I remember KSFX in San Francisco that played this song way back then . I was 12 going on 13 when this came out and loved this song . Still makes my 48 year old self get up and dance till this day !
Medic83301 7 months ago
Long Live Tha Music !
Keepsz 7 months ago
HAVE MERCY!! LETS DANCE!!..PHILLY TO MY SOUL!!.I THOUGHT I DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN AND AT 500 WATTS YOU FEEL IT IN YOUR BONES.. THANK YOU SOUTH SHORE COMISSION A JOB WELL DONE..TOM MOULTON ALWAYS THE MAESTRO..LETS KEEP THIS MUSIC, AND ALL MUSIC ALIVE..XX BG..
djbillygee 7 months ago
anthem!!!!!!!!!!! paradise garage forever! larry! thank you!
2tonsolid 8 months ago
YES MAN, YES ,PEACE AND LOVE TO ALL .
WilderelAchaiah 8 months ago
.........the dawn of an era that we'll never see again.........glad to have survived it !!
dirtyedna 8 months ago
The song is an Anthem for clubbers
endless441 8 months ago
HOUSEHEADS STANDS UP!!!
mizzjuicy38 8 months ago
Music like this makes me wish I was born in the 70s so I could've went to amazing clubs like Paradise Garage! Nowadays, are there even real clubs period?
TheSunnyStar 8 months ago
Jamaica High School, Jamaica Queens, NYC, Class of 1976, yeah baby!!
WILDSTYLENYC 9 months ago
@WILDSTYLENYC My alma mater!!! Class of 1975. This was THE JAM!!
sandraeg1 3 months ago
Fiyah1
looseassociation 9 months ago
Hadn't heard this song in 36 yrs. Didn't quite remember it just bits & pieces. Thanks to YouTube, I've found it! Thank God for YouTube!!!!
MrJamie1932 10 months ago
Larry !!!!! Used to play the Hell out of this Song 84 Kings st forever in my heart
td33rb77 10 months ago 2
Used to take the E or F train from Queens, head to the 40dowop, hang out at Ipanema's on 52nd Street and Broadway till 4ish then head on to the afterhours, La Bamba in Queens and come out of there at 11:00 am looking ike a zombie, sleep all day and then repeat.
WILDSTYLENYC 11 months ago
there was a time
djfrankied1 1 year ago
ZANIBAR, NJ, TONY HUMPHRIES.
lennymac100 1 year ago 3
A paradise garage/larry levan record! anthem!!!!!!!!
thank you! larry!
last night a dj saved my life!!!!! may you rest in peace!
84kingstcore 1 year ago
I been telling everyone so many times, Instant Funk were the rhythm section on super hot cut! Although its easy to think this was H-B-Y, Harris Baker and Young, but indeed it was Instant Funk. Listen to Theodore T Life on that guitar at 3.43 Raymond Earl, Kim and Scotty Miller jamming at 4.50 and yes that's Vince Montana at 5.09. Scotty sounds so much like Earl Young kickiin those drums you swear it WAS him!! This is the sound of philly at its best!
XL500GT 1 year ago
I think I have a 12 disc in my garage. Go Newark and Shanique's.
SnakeRAM 1 year ago
This was one among several individual songs that you can say were a Paradise Garage anthem. This was the bomb! OMG! That break with the vibes was off the hook! I remember being on the boardwalk open air on the roof. You know what I'm talking about if you lived the Garage. I was bouncing all over the place. DAMN that Garage was like no other place in space and time.
pluggedin2u 1 year ago 3
@pluggedin2u The Garage was PARADISE.. Pure Class Pure Magic..This song was a dance floor filler couldn't get enough of it...Happy times, we will never ever pass this way again...I am glad I was their to taste it feel it LOVED it all!! Ooohh the memories!!! Thank you my friend for the memories!! BIG SMILE Peace N Love!
Thank you @Discotized for posting this GEM!
2009Denisem 11 months ago
Clubs usually played the 5 minute version...Great song to hustle to in the early days. The bass made the whole building shudder, it was maybe the Second Story in Phila .... not sure I can remember the place, stained glass windows on the walls of the stairway....don't remember much about that night, but I know I made it home with the 12" mix in my hand and it was winter. DJ's would give up their old copies if they knew you and had another one or two.
rcaVictor1963 1 year ago
damn, this was a serious hustle song at clubs in Manhattan like Pippins, Othellos, LeMartinique, and Silver Shadow. Man, a good time was had by all in those days without fear of being robbed or shot when they left the club at sunrise. Those were truly "the good ole days"
peaceman07651 1 year ago
I love being free
TheBlacka1 1 year ago
STRAIGHT WOMEN LOVES THIS BANGER TOO. WHEREVER GOOD MUSIC IS, WE FOLLOW! FREEDOM IS THE KEY TO LOVING ME! IF YOU CUT US DO WE NOT BLEED HOUSE!!
burres48 1 year ago 2
If you are not dancing then there is no hope for you. I'm a free man what can you say it had it all the beat, sound, music and the voice.
MrWeekend44 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
If you are not dancing then there is no hope for you.
MrWeekend44 1 year ago
Just makin sure I heard right but at 1:06 "All I need is a man like you........" Was this a man singing this about another man?
pup9981 1 year ago
@pup9981 Ah Yeah! Still go music!
therejones1 1 year ago
Gurl, I'm a free man and braggin bout it.....YES! And I'm braggin bout bein lucky enough to have been born in 62 in an era when 16 and 17 year olds routinely hit the best clubs in NY and Philly - Paradise Garage, baby! The club era - up to around 83 or 84 - will never be excelled - nor will the music (like this sawng) Thank you for posting
njplr 1 year ago 23
@njplr ME TOO BORN IN 58
fruityblack 2 months ago in playlist YouTube Mix for South Shore Commission
@fruityblack TRIPPING MY TITS OFF AT THE GALLERY NICKY SCIANO PLAYED THIS TIL THE SUN CAME UP...WORKING THE TREBLE AND BASS TIL THE CHILDREN SCREAMED IN ECSTASY ..THOSE WERE THE DAYS ...THEN HE WOULD USE JET PLANE SOUND EFFECTS AND BRING IN MFSB LOVE IS THE MESSAGE ....THE KIDS WOULD SWING THE HUGE MIRROR BALL TIL IT FELL ON THE DANCE FLOOR...BOBBY TAYLOR ....
thebigpr1 1 month ago
Danced off this in 1975 at a Trenton NJ bar called the Zodiac. Brings back memories.
NJKef 1 year ago
for anyone who remembers.....FEW records worked the "kids" into a frenzie like this one ( Well, maybe Chi-Lites My First Mistake, or Black Ivory Mainline, or....) The Garage, and all of our other "palaces" grand, or not so much, if they're still standing, have this music and OUR SWEAT etched into the walls........CHEERS TO US!!!!!
dirtyedna 1 year ago 3
@dirtyedna Yes Yes Yall!!!!!!!!!!!!
LEGSUDESIRE 1 year ago
@dirtyedna check that blue magic 'welcome to the club"
burres48 1 year ago
@dirtyedna that 'blue magic "Welcome to the club"" iaacs hays "aint gonna turn round
burres48 1 year ago
@burres48 ...hi...I actually have all of that on vinyl...I also love Blue Magic's Look Me Up (same LP)..check out my favorites...tons of scarce back in the day classics...God I miss those days and so many friends who aren't around anymore. Thanks,Bob
dirtyedna 1 year ago
This track came out 6 months Disco came out of no where and change the way dance,,it was like the world change 6 monhs...I was only 14 to witness it.
harderizbetter 1 year ago
really.. its the pre house beat....
KingAro1 1 year ago
Classic!!! I own a reprint of this great cut. Got a hold of it back in 1985> I treasure it!
Progressive1Fitness 1 year ago
Fab Tune with many memories attached
jelboysvw 1 year ago
The use to rock this at a club called Nell Gwynn in NYC back-in-da-day!!!
gina72916 1 year ago
THIS REMINDS ME OTHE ZANZ.....BIG UPS TO HIPPIE TEE GERALD LARRY AND
TONY
djlordyasin43 1 year ago
...love the way they call it "house" even though it came out in 1975 !!
dirtyedna 1 year ago
Oh oh! Somebody's in trouble, now!
moidounltd2 1 year ago
I remember stomping on the floor running around 1015! Wow, I miss those days....get your hand stamped during a marathon, come back hours later and jack more, until you stepped into the sunlight dripping wet with sweat!!!!
mgray3267 1 year ago
oooh ooh oh oooh ooh oh
LEGSUDESIRE 1 year ago
they still love this one
mikkhiel13 1 year ago
this has to be one of the greatest house cuts ever made
tictac1408 1 year ago
ols scool jammin
jjhhcc163 1 year ago
@jjhhcc163 ..... You got that RIGHT!!!
MrJamie1932 1 year ago
i remember my friend dexter johnson he had a 45 copy of freeman glued to 12' jamin at a house party! wow
MJTC1 1 year ago
LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT.
GIRL I'M A FREEMAN AND TALKING ABOUT IT. BUT I MIGHT STILL HAVE TO RUN!!! Well changing this line better suite's me. PEACE
lovethemuisc 1 year ago
news flash peeps, back in the day (1973-1978 lots of lp tracks were pressed onto acetate for easy access by dj's & small promotion companies. they usually had limited play time as they lost there fidelity quickly. freeman(an lp cut), was no exception & the acetate version of "limited" pressing is the same as the lp version. the record company pressed "we're on the right track" on 12,' that the song they originally promoted as a single. innovative dj's heard the lp & started playing "freeman."
daryllharris 1 year ago
It's House-Church! Watch your cocktails..I'm about to testify!!!
mwlv12 1 year ago
yes the breakdown always get me
DJy2kmalone 1 year ago
OH YEAH!!!
frbennett2000 1 year ago
yes the paradise garage was off the hook with this jam thanks for finding it.
oldschoolmama1959 2 years ago 2
Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest Underground Dance classics of all time! Absolutely OVAH!!!
richierich796 2 years ago
This brings me back to Paradise Garage, NY circa 1983. Has searched for this song for years!
Super636mom 2 years ago 3
Written by : Bunny Sigler/Ronnie Tyson
Produced by : Bunny Sigler
Mixed/Edited by Tom Moulton
Revered by : ME ! ( an' all the chil'ren !)
dirtyedna 2 years ago
Anybody else saw them on Soul Train?
bornwithaBA 2 years ago
does anyone have the notes for this song? sheet music or something?
lockness1980 2 years ago
chi-town- musik box ron hardy rest in peace
MJTC1 2 years ago 3
@MJTC1 Used to leave with my ears ringing. RIP RON
looseassociation 9 months ago
One of my favorite jams! Awesomeness.
TheSunnyStar 2 years ago 2
wooooooow lol thanks VERY much for posting this one of my faves
JerseyDiva55 2 years ago
my friend pat would play this for us at her house we would be at her house dancing but she 21 and we were 14 n 15 she was cool she will be missed
embracesme 2 years ago
DJMELLOWBWAX.PARKJAMS ! Excellent post!
kell7wlt 2 years ago
That's no rumour!!!
It was an acetate given out by Mel Cherin of Scepter Records to a few (less than 10 DJs)---then a white label 12" pressing was given to NYC DJs--One of the first 12" if not THE FIRST given to us.
Tom Moulton WAS given credit for this as his name is on the single AND on South Shore Commissions LP which had the new 12" version on it.
JayNegron 2 years ago 7
Jay, Thank you for clarifying this one.. Thanks for commenting.
Discotized 2 years ago
@Discotized A Free Man is the American National Athem in this day and age...For all men who did not do it right the first time....Thank you SouthSide/South Shore Commission
TheYenoc7 1 year ago
O yes!
Praise God!
maugeemilio 2 years ago
dam !dam!dam! to all the newark n.j. zanzibar dont forget the powder!
newinnaty 2 years ago 5
I was at Zanzibar the night it opened....sweet!!!
ntvamrn 2 years ago
@newinnaty Zanzibar was the spot but don't foget New Experiance later on called Sensations.....
Oldschool4evr 1 year ago
one of my all time favs - superb stuff
jelboysvw 2 years ago
classic!
BobbySpiceone 2 years ago
Rest in Peace Ron!! Trying to Sneak into MENDEL...Holla at ya Girl
MizzCocoa36 2 years ago
Mendel grad from 86 - these kids today dont know what partying is they missed out on the greatest time
MENDELMAN86 2 years ago 3
@MENDELMAN86 YoungBlood, I was at the FIRST 'set' where we got in free because we wore shorts, that was in the summer of '80!
looseassociation 9 months ago
@MizzCocoa36 : YESSS!!! At Mendel sweating like it's a rain storm in there. Slam dancing and at the 3:35 to 4:10 mark spinning out of control. -CVS Class of '86 here...
DJGLeon 1 year ago
This was the first 12" single pressed.
I have 2 copys opened and one sealed
( un opened ).
It will remain that way in memory of Ronnie. R.I.P.
New York City
D.J. Sal Z.
salz0723 2 years ago 2
No one could or would or will ever beat this shyt like Ronnie..Beat that shyt Ronnie..R.I.P....He was a magician on the tables..when i first went to the box after going to medusa's i was srung in 87...he had people crying..looking like they was on drugs...
whispers0268 2 years ago 4
This is the essential club cut for me. Ron Hardy would beat the hell out of that break. Frankie at the 1015 served it differently, but I enjoyed all of it.
davidalan1967 2 years ago 5
R.I.P Ron Hardy Muzic Box my ear still feel the effect of How Loud are brother that passed had it!! Chitown Stand UP!
shadowpapito 2 years ago 3
Frankie did and still TOTALLY DOES serve. Every time I pass by 1015 N. Halsted to this very day I look for that door with the address on it and take a breath and scream inside. (Everything else around it is torn down.)
Btw, LaRay in in the eternal pantheon, 2 ! The music was like thunder and the kids were a complete gag. And don't start remembering Talent Nights. Lawd, lawd, lawd.
So nice to know people remember....
ezywonder 2 years ago 8
ezywonder, I remember LaRays, The Rialto, Stop & Drink, Clubhouse, The Warehouse, The Music Box, and don't forget Belmont Rocks!!!!
ThePrinceChannel 2 years ago 2
@ThePrinceChannel ....you must have been followin' me!! Or was I followin" you??!! Gotta say we sho nuff partied back in the day!! Non-stop.... from one club to another!!
maceo28 2 years ago
@ThePrinceChannel don't forget Jeffery Pub, Martin's Den and Sandy's
KLScorp 1 year ago
@KLScorp MARTINS DEN!!! No you didn't!!!! ;-)
maceo28 1 year ago
@ThePrinceChannel PowerPlant,Mendel,Underground, La Ray's SAWYERS, AKA's Coconuts, Lavinci Manor,Payground, MEDUSA's I miss them all ! ! ! !
looseassociation 9 months ago
@ezywonder Damn! I too get a lil misty every time I pass by 1015!!! Hella memories...coming out there @ 9am...greeted by sunshine and folks looking at you like U were insane!! LOL!!
maceo28 1 year ago
classic!
MJTC1 2 years ago
Ron Hardy playing this at the Music Box. That break is when we'd lose it! Then He'd start it again... Forgot how much fun this song was.
suslider 2 years ago 8
.the sound system in the Paradise Garage's bathroom was better than LaRays........
dirtyedna 2 years ago 2
Judging by the pics on the net I can believe THAT! WOW! Thanks for the info. The Chi needs a Paradise Garage like ASAP.
KineticLeather 2 years ago
Great songs like this had straight people bragging about enjoying themselves in Chicago Gay clubs like LaRays back in the day. I've yet to hear a niteclub sound system that could compete with LaRays.
KineticLeather 2 years ago
Thank you! and were the girls more gorgeous outside dating? :))
ezywonder 2 years ago
this shit banged at MENDEL if u were there u know what Im sayin!!!!!
MENDELMAN86 2 years ago 3
Oh no doubt!! I was there '84,'85..was we "jackin" or what?!?!?!?
kaleba 2 years ago 3
This has been flagged as spam show
Mendel grad from 86 - these kids today dont know what partying is... they missed out on the greatest time
MENDELMAN86 2 years ago
@MENDELMAN86
I am also a mendelman of 86. ronnie g in the house. As the unofficially house dancer of the class, this was my jam and NO the kids of today have nothing that compares to losing it on the dancefloor to this cut. It is like church when the break ends and the bass is thrown back in until your body rocks from the vibes. Cannot be compared. This is actually a 2 shirt song. I would sweat through my clothes at the bi-level jams and need to go to the car and change shirts.
stepper7023 1 year ago 8
Got the Chicago House Bootleg 12 inch on Lost Records Label. With the Trammps, "What Happened To The Music" on side B. Born in 67, mixed this in 1987. South Side, Low End, The Fort, Sheeba, The Nimbus, The Playground, Warehouse, Markham Roller Rink, Warehouse, Divinci Manor, the College, Sauers.
traynickel 2 years ago 2
Another disco megahit to the real party crowd. Underground dee jays pushed this one hard in the clubs of Gotham...especially the gay clubs in the village who specialized in funk. The 45' was the only version for a while before the 12' dropped. We'd buy two copies for back to back lengthy sophisticated funk because that's what they wanted.
djmegalopolous 2 years ago
Big Northern soul tune during the seventies Blackpool mecca Era in the UK
jelboysvw 2 years ago
...you can't possibly imagine the energy that this song generated at the gay clubs...it was the same for alot of our "signature" anthems...y'all know which ones and this is one of them......
dirtyedna 3 years ago
South Shore Commission was an R&B/funk group from Washington D.C. Members included Frank McCurry, Sheryl Henry, Sidney Lennear and Eugene Rogers. They charted three Hot 100 songs, the most popular of which, "Free Man," hit #61 in 1975 and went to #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart
loosestudios 3 years ago
The members of SSC were Frank McCurry,Scheryl Henry, Eugene Rogers, Warren Hagood, Lantz Arnell, Sidney L. Pinchback, and David T .Henderson.
BassPlayerofSSC 2 years ago
Thanks for commenting. Did you play on this session recording? What an honor!
Discotized 2 years ago
No the track was recorded by Instant Funk and presented to us by Bunny Seigler.
BassPlayerofSSC 2 years ago
The break down at 4:09 pure genious...musical precision. And somebody is plucking the hell out of that bass and who'd a thought a xylophone could sound so funky!
xiloves 3 years ago
You seem to be a xilo lover so if you don't know them yet, I advise you many of ROY AYERS songs, which contains a lot of it, musically exceptionnal...^^
vbierry 2 years ago
This makes me want to do the hustle!
MakeItGoGreen 3 years ago
Oh My GOD. This is my song. I was born in 71. This is some strong music that will never die. LISTEN TO IT!!!!!!! CHICAGO
Love4500 3 years ago
I m 71 from the Chi too. Only we would understand, cause good music is the soul of Chi. The killllin it
xiloves 3 years ago
you killin me with the 71!!!! lol I was born in 73 and this was the song at Leo parties!
Jaymoore0304 2 years ago
this my shit i've been wondering who made this cut
houseofjrk 3 years ago
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhh my goodness just soulful sultry bad orchestra disco music....Chi town stand up. Music box this...Disco will nvr die.
xiloves 3 years ago
Great song, lots of memories from The Barefoot Boy on E. 39Th St. where my friend Tony Collado tended bar and dance floor in back was hot.
norodofneverwood 3 years ago
AHH! Someone else who went to the Barefoot Boy!
tatsf 3 years ago
OMG, This is one of the greatest songs of all time. STILL STANDING STRONG. Although I thought it was a guy singing to another guy.
docp10 3 years ago
That is soooo funny cuz I thought it was a guy singing to another guy too for a long time.(lol)
knight3a 3 years ago
No baby that is a woman. haha my best friend who spins House music thought the same thing and he had the record! I had to let him know.
xiloves 3 years ago
I remember dancing to this at a gay bar with a gay friend/neighbor from my building on Bleecker St who died over 20 years ago. The bar was called the Chalice and it was up the block from the Ninth Circle on W 10th Street right in the block from 7th Ave. Everytime I hear this song I think of the nights he would invite me out dancing in The Village carefree in our 20s in 1975...
cornmashmeanscash 3 years ago 4
Wow! That's an awesome story. Thank you for sharing. 1975, was the year i was born. I always said I was born too late. I would of loved to have experienced life in the 70s.
Discotized 3 years ago
i'm the uncle of this UTube subscriber.I lived nearby at 88 Charles, NYU by day and at night...first stop Julius's for a burger and the free peanuts, then smokin joints up/down Christopher St, then warm up at the Stonewall in preparation for the BIG TIME at Paradise, Roseland or the Garage where this music was hot, sweaty and all night,,, ahhh, those magical innocent, carefree, careless years... (somehow ended up at the trucks 4 a "nitecap" ... :)
jon609 3 years ago
Those were the days, dancing at 12 West, God I would give anything to go back for just one day and night. The neighborhood is so different now, was down there on Halloween.
cornmashmeanscash 3 years ago
Damn man, I love the connections that the internet allows us! I hit NYC in 75 and frequented Julius, the Chalice, Ninth Circle, Kellers, Peter Rabbits, and a couple of yrs later the Garage! Made it to the trucks and piers often enough too! Thanks for all the good memories! And good to know that there's some of us left!
tatsf 3 years ago
I love this song. You know those songs that when you hear them in the club, or in the discotheque, you just had to get up and dance?This is one of those songs!!!
THEHUNGRYVEGETARIAN 3 years ago
This jam here was one of the the trailblazers in NYC during the days of Pete Dj Jones, Grandmaster Flash, and Flowers. Clubs like the Loft, and the Headrest in the city lead the way with jams like this. They didn't have the 12's then, so all of us deejays were buying two copies to run back to back. This remix here came later on for sure.
djmegalopolous 3 years ago
I know there is a version that is on a faster speed. That is the one I wanted to listen.
Soulthinker2007 3 years ago
OMG, OMG, OMG.... Been looking for this shit.. Listen to the stand up Base and the bells.. Classic, yes classic......
talldrink9 3 years ago
This was monster at the Loft in NYC.. Lofting it up...hahaha!!
hawkfist69 3 years ago
Love this song!!!!! Back in the late 70s, this song used to make any and every club in New York into a crazy place....Better Days, in particular.
cadicorniche 3 years ago 2
Does anyone remember their songs Anyday Now and Before you Go? I can't find them on YouTube.
newpassss 3 years ago
the one takes me back to when i was in school east st.louis senoir high school, listening to kkss fm. i learned to love disco and jass.
juicyanna 3 years ago
Hustled to this one at LeJardin, NYC. Recently read about the DJs and Tom Moulton from this era and now have an appreciation of the art. Back then at age 17, all I knew was that this music was like nothing I ever heard before. Thinking back, these guys were the definition of innovation. Not only did music change for the better but it also had an impact on society. The clubs were filled with people (straight, gay, white, black, latin, asian) that had a common bond - the music.
jcselav 3 years ago
Saw them live in West Bury back in the day. Thanks for posting.
songbird565 3 years ago
OMG!!!!! Thanks Oneguys 11 and EdgardosGirl81204 for clearing up the debate about who sang the song. Went to the house music fest in Newark and, after 30 years, finally heard the lyrics. Damn. I thought it was a guy singing to another guy. I thought I had to rethink the song. Cool. ...Party on....
mreeves520 3 years ago
this song sO slow i dont get y people like this song
paulineakasade 3 years ago
Disco wasn't about tempo, but a groove thing. There were always progressions during that period.
punchcar 3 years ago
Do you hear that awesome break down at abt 420 CLASSIC...Disco totally underated...some of the best musician ship EVER.
xiloves 3 years ago
Oh Yeah , my Senior year,1975!! This was the theme song when you broke up with that pain in a neck girlfriend who gave you such a hard time everyday!!! Ha! Ha!!
1975tooto 3 years ago 2
Now this is some Powerplant/Den One/Rialtos/Fosters/The Ritz Shit!!! The Children carried on so!! Memories...by the time you were all up in the song you had to start hollerin' and yellin'! Many a drink was spilled on this one...Chi-town up in here!!
maceo28 3 years ago 2
OMG! I have been in search for this song for a very long time. I was 10-yrs-old when this came out. I remember dancing all over the Brooklyn apartment to this cut. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
2godbetheglory 3 years ago
Alright lusciouslady73 we need to talk.
davidalan1967 3 years ago
If it was two men or a man and a woman, I loved this song! Frankie, thank you for taking us to Heaven at the Powerplant with this cut. This was real partying back in the day.
davidalan1967 3 years ago
powerplant was the sh#t back in the day
lusciouslady73 3 years ago
Forgot to mention that I read on disco history website that Tom Moulton who developed the 12" was responsible for this song.
pabc 3 years ago
This is one for the best dance songs ever!!
pabc 3 years ago
We're On The Right Track Now" by this band is SWEET.
ZyllAvatar 3 years ago 2
Now that is old school music! All you young folks sit down and take notes! This is real music, real instruments and real voices. The way it supposed to be done!
AwesomePoet 3 years ago 2
everybody rock this shit this summer outdoors show dem youngins what real talking is get the fuck up!!!!!
neomorasta 3 years ago
Around 04:10/...It's buildin you up,so that when it finally gets to 05:10/ you loose your damn mind..An I can kinda see how you could get confused with the voices cause they go back an forth an her voice sounds a little similar to his so I think it was just easier to ride with the gay story...It's cool to finally hear the truth behind it...But regardless of what the rumor was this still is the shit.........
slickeight 3 years ago 2
This is the shit
tssexychanel 3 years ago
Sheryl Henry was her name and it was definitely
a female/male duet-She was the only female in the group-produced by Bunny Sigler and one of the last hits for Flo Greenberg's Scepter/Wand
labelsd
EdgardosGirl81204 3 years ago 2
Sorry 17mark as much as you would like this to be a gay song with two dude's singing to each other it's a woman singing to a man please listen closely she has a deep voice but its a woman
oneguyz11 3 years ago
I'm pretty sure it was the MFSB players on this one anyway, Bobby Eli def. played on it, and you can hear Vince Montana. Instant Funk played on 'I'd Rather Switch Than Fight'.
Bunny Sigler as far as I know was straight, or in any case, an R&B singer that sung about girls (and a PIR employee to boot).
The group were as far as I know, formed from funk band The X-Citers and Chicago soul group The 5 Dutones.
roots909 3 years ago
Guess who doing that music,,, believe it or not its Instant Funk with Bunny Seglar handling the productions, Oh and yes that was a gay song. One that Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff turn down for productions.
They did not want to be associated with homosexual songs.
az85755 3 years ago
Thanks for all the comments. I'm glad you all enjoyed. Thanks for enlightening me on the group members and message.
Discotized 3 years ago