It was 35 years ago this month when Rick James delivered his Street Songs to the world.
Street Songs is the defining album of Rick’s career, musically and commercially. “Give It To Me Baby” is the opening hit, an R&B No. 1 which clears the road for “Super Freak” (with the Temptations on backing vocals), a Top 20 pop smash. The musician later says he intended the track “just as a joke, something [white folk] could dance to.” He adds, “My whole life changed drastically after Street Songs. I was no longer a black artist, I had officially crossed over.”
By August ’81, it was in the Top 3 of the Billboard charts, and the boy from Buffalo was the king of punk-funk.
Enjoy the video that celebrates this classic album, and cast your vote below if you think that Street Songs should be crowned as Motown’s best-ever album.
Voting is open until May 27th and you can share your details to be entered into a prize draw for some limited-edition vinyl.
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