Influences: Parris Mitchell

The first is a record by the legendary James Brown. During 1968 in U.S. history, there was a bill passed by congress called ‘FHA’. This acronym stands for “The Fair Housing Act”. This allowed minorities the opportunity to relocate to areas previously off limits. There was a whole movement during this period. I was as young as 4 years old the first time I heard this gem. My parents would wake me up to dance and impress house guests with my innate ability at rhythm. However, this is the song I recall dancing to the most. The rhythm of the band on this record seems to have influenced me very early in life.

The second is The Ohio Players, my introduction to hearing really funky grooves. A song titled Pain. Once again, from my older brother’s selection of music.

This is a gem recorded by a lesser known Motown act, Undisputed Truth, called ‘Smiling Faces’. This was extremely impressionable on a 7-year-old’s mind. I once toured with a Grammy Award winning act, playing guitar. My best friend, Kevin Irving aka Jack N. House, Kirv, joined the group, and I would often mention that I would love to hear them cover this song. Then when I toured, somehow the idea got away from me. It’s a true gem!

I’ve always wanted to produce a record that is as deep and enigmatic as this record is. It’s by 10cc called I’m Not In Love. I could listen to this record 1 million times more, and never tire of it. A truly majestical piece of modern record production. Reminiscing on this piece of art, gives me the mind to stretch creatively. Which explains my eclectic form in production, and musical taste.

This was my earliest recollection of what would later become known as ‘disco’ for me. The entire neighbourhood would blast this song on separate radios throughout various backyards. It’s by The Hues Corporation called “Rock The Boat”. I didn’t realise at that time what I was listening to. After I began playing guitar, two years later, I could relate to the infectious groove. I recall big backyard parties that my Dad would throw with these type of records playing constantly, and people dancing with big hair, bell bottom pants, stack shoes, and the whole fashion trend, at that time.

This leads me to Brother ll Brother/Brother2Brother/Brother to Brother – I Might Have A Chance With You. This group recorded with Gil Scott Herron on his classic track, The Bottle. When this was released in 1976, the same year I picked up the guitar, started music school, and was reading LP credits, learning music theory, and following the older musicians in the neighborhood to rehearsals just so I could sit outside the basement windows and hear them play all day, whilst my friends were playing ball etc. During this summer, I would go and sit outside a local venue called The Copherbox that was originally located one block away from my home. At 12-years-old, I would sit there until the bands finished their first set. One night I sat in the lobby so long that the bouncer came and gave me a milk crate to sit on. I watched, observed, mimicked and sat there just to listen to them play these type of records, live. I was hooked on music, completely as a career at this point.

Just about everything by Donald Byrd and The Blackbyrds from 1974 was incredible. The most memorable for me was 1974: The Blackbyrds (Fantasy), with the singles Walking In Rhythm…

…Happy Music…

…and Rock Creek Park.

By the time I realised who my older brother was always listening to years earlier, he (Hendrix) was gone from earth. I started indulging heavily in Jimi Hendrix in 1976. The entire Monterey Pop Festival live recording was so incredible and emotional, I think I played it so much that his spirit jumped on me. Especially this particular cover version of Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone”. Between Hendrix, and James Brown, and the understanding of time signatures, note values, and rhythms, I was able to incorporate these rhythmic feels into my guitar playing, and later in my record productions, Check this out!

A couple of notables are: Raydio and Ray Parker Jr’s For Those Who Like To Groove…

…and Shalamar’s Second Time Around.

…and Shalamar’s Second Time Around.

Imagine seeing this at 13 years old, live… This particular video is from 1976, in Houston Texas. In 1977, I purchased tickets with friends to attend this very show, in our city of Chicago Well, our tickets were stolen, and we were swiftly kicked out the front door. It was a huge stadium at the time called The Amphitheater on Chicago’s south side. We kicked rocks and walked around in extreme disappointment. Being the curious child that I was, I saw a crowd beating and kicking the rear stadium doors. The double doors gave way, and everyone started running up the ramp. I managed to squeeze in front of the bigger kids and adults, and ended up in front of all of them. To prevent myself from being trampled on, I ran as fast as I could, turned around and noticed that the security was dragging people down from the ramps. Then I was running faster to prevent from being beat up. I reached the very top, and realized that I was all alone, not even my friends made it in the building. I figured I wasn’t gonna live to see another day, so I stayed and watched this concert at midnight in a stadium full of grown ups, all alone at 13-years-old. The sound of those enormous speakers, the stage theatrics, blew my mind!

They also performed this really incredible and dark emotional song, with a stadium full of marijuana cloud smoke.

Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert that aired every Friday night with acts like Sylvester.

Long drives with my Dad and an 8-track, listening to these type of records, that I couldn’t rewind.

The Brothers Johnson – Strawberry Letter 23 Was and still is one of my all time most influential records.

Anita Ward’s Ring My Bell was a regular in band rehearsal.

My very first manager, Leo Lavender, just happened to be a DJ. He was also one of my older sister’s boyfriends. He turned me onto these geniuses in 1978.

In 1980, I started making records, in a professional recording studio, at the age of 16. That’s me the skinny kid with the afro, standing, wearing sunglasses.

I fell in love with these type of records B52’s on a very important visit to my Aunt’s house in Detroit Michigan where my two cousins, Jesse and Danny Davis, were already DJing parties.

Oddly enough, I rejected the electronic dance music later to be known as ‘house music’ because I was a disco kid, and relished in the fact that it was musicianship involved in making those incredible records. Until I heard this house gem by Farley ‘Jackmaster Funkin’ Keith, Vince Lawrence, Jesse Saunders, Marshall Jefferson and the late great Daryl Pandy singing