Menu Close

Tag: Bill Champlin

YO MAMA

From SINGLE
Written by Bill Champlin

“Yo Mama” was a smoking, funk jam written by legendary Bill Champlin for his first solo album, Single. Released in 1978 and produced by a young but already gifted David Foster, Single was a sophisticated pop/R&B affair that was pretty close to the blue-eyed territories of Boz Scaggs’ 1976 seminal Silk Degrees. “Yo Mama,” with its rock-solid groove and muscular arrangement, was one of the highlights on Champlin’s album. This R&B mid-tempo sports a soulful atmosphere and a catchy, energetic refrain reflective of the glorious sounds of Sons Of Champlin and other big acts like The Commodores or Tower Of Power .

Read more →

SATISFACTION

 from RUNAWAY

Written by Bill Champlin & Richard Page

The years between the late seventies and early eighties often saw David Foster embedding dynamic and punchy horn arrangements into his productions. The Canadian Hitmaker’s close collaboration with arranger supreme Jerry Hey brought to life fantastic horn charts that can be appreciated on legendary recordings by Bill Champlin, Peter Allen, Boz Scaggs, Deniece Williams, Airplay, The Tubes and Average White Band. This week’s spotlight is put on “Satisfaction,” an irresistible, up-tempo jam that opened the second side of Champlin’s 1981 album “Runaway.”

Read more →

EXPLAIN IT TO MY HEART

 from TWENTY 1

written by Diane Warren

Let’s go back to the late Eighties. After a very successful stint with David Foster on their 16, 17 and 18 albums, Chicago opted for a more rock-infused sound for Chicago 19. They chose to collaborate with AOR producers Ron Nevison and Chas Sanford. Chicago 19 kept the hit series going for the veteran rock band with top ten hits like “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love,” “You’re Not Alone” and their third #1 ever, Diane Warren’s “Look Away.” All those hits were sung by Bill Champlin and produced by Nevison who sports an illustrious track-record with names including Kiss, Starship, Heart, Bad English and Damn Yankees. The obvious subsequent move was to confirm Nevison for Chicago Twenty-1.

Read more →

FLY WITH ME

from SINGLE

written by Bill Champlin

This week we go back, once again, to one of the early masterpieces of David Foster’s career, Bill Champlin’s “Single.” Released in 1978, “Single” is one of those albums that helped define a certain music genre that fans usually call quality pop or westcoast pop.

Read more →

BIX

from AIRPLAY-30th Anniversary Special Edition

written by David Foster, Jay Graydon & Steve Kipner

This week we go back once again to one of the seminal albums of David Foster’s career, the magnificent “Airplay.” That group was the brainchild of Foster and Jay Graydon. The self titled album was released in 1980 and is considered the musical manifest of quality pop. It includes Airplay’s original idea of popular music with rock overtones, jazzy changes and clever instrumental  arrangements. “Airplay” has been re-released a couple of times for the 25th and 30th anniversary of its release.

Read more →