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Jet Jams 9/18


Can we talk about how Florida Evans left her poverty stricken family in the Cabrini Green Projects of Chicago and went off to live in Arizona with repair shop OWNER, Carl?! Mother of the Year, right?! LOL


JET's Top 20 Singles is one of my favorite magazine staples. I often go through old issues just to see what was dominating radio in any given week/month/year.


This week's Top 20 comes from September of 1978... The highlight of that year for most people would be the debut album of a nineteen year old kid from Minneapolis, MN. Produced, arranged, composed, and performed by His Majesty, The Purple One, himself... ALL TWENTY SEVEN INSTRUMENTS... ALL PRINCE!


1978 also saw Rick James give a great big FUCK YOU to disco with the release of his debut album, Come Get It! While Rick didn't play all 27 instruments on his album, he did compose and arrange all of his songs... he also played all guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, and bass.


And if you know ME, you know my position on the Rick James vs. Prince debate. I'm always going to choose the man who HEADLINED the tour vs. the person who OPENED for him. But the opener gets props for knowing that he'd one day be a "star."



But, to me, the most IMPORTANT debut of 1978 (came from a seventeen year old girl out of Philadelphia. EVELYN CHAMPAGNE KING!!! (her album actually debuted in August of 1977, but she was a constant on the charts... Black Girl Magic, for real!)

'78 had ALL of the hits... ALL OF THEM! Such a perfect mix of disco, soul, and FUNK!


Take a listen to the sounds of Black America in September of 1978!


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