122. Cherchez La Femme

Dr. Buzzard’s Original “Savannah” Band (RCA Victor, 1976);
composed by Stony Browder Jr. & Thomas August Darnell Browder

There was no better or weirder nostalgia act than this group, because they really meant the nostalgia part – they made it intellectually challenging rather than the revolting pander it became in the mid ‘70s. On this track, their tune is just under three minutes, sandwiched between two-minute-long covers (more like lengthy quotes, but the kind you have to pay royalties for) of “Whispering,” a hit from the ‘20s, and “Se si bon,” from the late ‘40s. The latter decade is how they styled themselves rhythmically as well as sartorially, but they did nothing to conceal the electric instruments and synths – everything just fit together. And it went to number one on the Dance chart for a reason: it may not have sounded up to date rhythmically, but it felt that way, and it made the song hyperconductive – which defines Disco far more succinctly than a uniform 120 beats per minute. Neither was there anything feel-good about the lyrics – sung by the utterly brilliant Cory Daye – which are about various characters (including their manager) coping with general misery by “cherchez la femme.” As in its original sense as a French proverb, this has remarkably little to do with getting laid.

Note: Secular essays about individual songs, each one exactly 200 words long, appearing one per day through Advant and at least semi-regularly until Donald goes away.