Which year do you think was the last year for consistently good Boogie music? Personally, I think 1986 was the last good consistent year for the genre. Even though the funkiness was gradually tapering off in comparison to the peak years of 1983-84, there were still enough good ones such as 9th Creation's "Maybe", The Snapp's "You Knock Me Out", and MVP's "She Is Naive" to still make it interesting.

By 1987, the sound of r&b was in a flux/transition away from the grittier, funkier sound of earlier years with new jack swing/swingbeat right around the corner (not really my cup of tea) by 1988.

Even though 1987 wasn't consistent and good boogie was becoming scarce, there were a few still lurking such as

Grade A -- "Say It"
Nathan Bartell -- "I Want Your Love"
Fay Hill -- "Island In My Mind" lp on Bouvier
Quintin Wilson -- "A Dream A Dream Come True" (sounds more like very early 80s with more of a low-fi "acoustic" sound)
Farrow -- "Pride & Lovers"
Sherrick (RIP) -- "Let's Be Lovers Tonight"
Lanier & Co -- "Up In Smoke"
Renee Aldrich -- "Just Begun To Love You"

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Some other cuts....


Steve Jones - "Don't You Know That"
California Executives - "I Can't Forget You"
Pause - "It's Just Amazing" (OK, so I don't own that one, but hey, it's still a cut out of 1987)
Jenei - "Let's Ride" (thanks to Mark and Mike of Mr. Peabody Records for bringing us this undiscovered beauty of a track)



I'm sure there are plenty others, these just came off of the top of my head

"I Can't Forget You" is hauntingly beautiful! What about "The Same For Me" also by the California Executives? Very crisp and polished sounding, it actually sounds more like 86 and the drum machine patterns sound as though they were inspired by the SOS Band "The Finest".

Jenei is another hot one....another one whose date can sound misleading; it's sounds more like a 1984-style record.

Well I do agree with Kelvy, I think 87 was the last
drops for Great boogie...artists like :
ST PAUL :Intimacy
Shabazz : Takes me higher
Kathy Mathis : Love Festival
Whispers : Rock Steady
Levert : Casanova
Baby Face : I love you babe

Just to name a few.....

Georgio, great to hear from you! i'm going to send you soon the email and i hope all is well with you and your loved ones. "Rocksteady" is another one of the last greats from the twilight of the boogie era. and speaking of 1987, i just remembered bert robinson's "heart of gold" (more of a slow song but hauntingly beautiful nevertheless).

another goodie from 87 i'm looking for is "up in smoke" by lanier & company.

To me the last great year and the best year was 1983 tho there was good records dropping all the way into the 90's I think 83 and partly 84 were the last years for that more gritty sound combining live instruments with analog synths and vocoders.

Shadow, you're right on the money with 83/84 being the last years for the live instrument and analog synth combination...that reminds me of Mutiny's "Peanut Butter And Jam" that you traded me a couple of years back!

Eddie Fisher's "Gigolo" on Nentu is a perfect example of that gritty early 80s funk sound (1981).

Indeed levly,
I agree. "Can't Forget" is oddly haunting in that pretty much the entire song's chords are strong major chords yet the feeling one comes away with after listening to it is considerably melencholic. I really enjoy that heavy snared, late 80's modern soul sound.
Not to seem at all overenthusiastic about the Junei record, but I really can't say that record sounds like anything else really, just completely out there in its Rick James-ish technical prowess and spaced-out early 80's synth vibe---and yet the drum machine sounds straight out of a 1987 Chicago House record...but yes, in the end, you're completely on in the year/style.

garagebeat, you're absolutely right about the melancholy feel of "i can't forget you"...and now that you mention it, "let's ride" has a drum machine pattern not atypical of a 1987 Chicago house record but yet sounding older. I heard a sample the flip called "you must go on" and it too doesn't sound like 1987-styled R&B.

Kelvy...dayumn is that 2 years since that trade already!?..lol...the older we get the faster time flies man..Do u have that Gigolo 12"? Mail you tomorrow...another late night of diggin' for Funk.

Hey Shadow, it was almost two years since that first trade! actually, i do not have the Eddie Fisher "Gigolo" but i am familiar with it thanks to an online mix i downloaded over a year ago...if you need the mix, let me know so i can send it over.

all the best! look forward to your words.

Yeah that would be great if u could send me the mix...all I have of Gigolo is the soundclip from here...no 45 and definetly no TWELWE INCH..lol

Check your email Shadow....it's smaller than a mini-disc though

82 is when the great boogie exploded but don't forget the good late 80's NEW-JACK SWING FUNK SOUNDS and sounds like PAUSE-IT'S JUST AMAZING, DONALD ALBERT-THE HARDEST PART, PURPLE GANG-SAY IT, BY ALL, MEANS, LILLO THOMAS, MILLIE SCOTT, SCOTT WHITE, ETC.... It's hard to pick the last great year because there was some good funk sounds all the way to the early 90's. 77-88 Fonk for life!!

Don't forget the good sounds of TONY TERRY. Great late 80's funky artist.

the last great boogie year for me is 1984. it was the last year you find the funky boogie style as a mainstream style in music business. there were lots of 12" (perhaps most in the danceclassics record gallery are from 84). in this year sound went to more poppy and less funky style.

for me the best years are 82 and 83 because the there were a fantastic mix of classic rhythm section with horns, synths and effects. great highlight in musical evolution to this time!!! you find in this years many really great jazz musicans who made or produced funk or funky music. this stand for great musical quality. after this time most of them went back to classic jazz.

and this was the time of the great funky music, dance and club labels. most of them went down after 83.

sure you can also find good tunes after 84. but this was not mainstream and you have to look a long time to find a pearl. also in the last years you can find good boogie tunes. really great is Eddie Craig - funktime on Spazzoid 12" in 2006. but til 84 you can find LPs that are strong records from begin to end. later there were only LPs with 1 or 2 strong boogie tunes.

Thank you for your input about my 1987 releases (You must go on & Let's Ride). In all honesty, my two songs were stolen from me and released illegally on "Pharoahs records" without my permission or knowledge. However, the positive side was that it sold extremely well! Since 1987, I re-recorded "You Must Go On and included it on my first self titled CD "JUNEI" which I am currently promoting and selling here in the U.S.
My website is...... junei.net