Year In Dance 2001 Volume 1 | Top Dance Songs of 2001 - a podcast by Keith a.k.a. K j A M

2001 was the year I personally bottomed-out in all aspects of my life.  Even so, it's chock-full of memories good and bad with some outrageous stories that are better left to a book.  I will say that with all the chaos surrounding my life at the time, there were some shining moments.  In particular, it was the year I met Rick who was dating a friend.  George (the friend) decided he didn't really like Rick.  Personally, I never thought anything about him until after they broke up.  Rick started calling me to go out and one thing just lead to another.  As the saying goes, one man's trash is another's treasure; well Rick was my treasure and still is today.



Most importantly, 2001 was an amazing year for club music.  In fact, some of the big names that were competing for club floor attention were getting some hefty competition from the likes of John Creamer and Stephane K.  Their remix of Iio's "Rapture" a year earlier set the stage for a multitude of number ones that would carry them through the year and beyond.  Their style was very progressive which as of today has been pushed to the underground.  In fact, there are several prog club hits this particular year, which is strange because you don't get that much hitting the charts these days.  Speaking of the underground, Celeda had her first number one after Peter Rauhofer took her and the song by the same title all the way to the top.  Additionally, Illicit (who I still am clueless about) made a strong showing the previous year with their re-work of the massive "Pasilda" and went on to have two additional number ones with Madison Avenue's "Who the Hell Are You" and Stevie Nicks' "Planets of the Universe".  Granted, Tracy Young turned in quite an excellent mix for the latter, but let's face it; Stevie's voice doesn't really lend itself to the dancefloor but Illicit's magic proved the song had some legs by turning it into a floor stomper.  Other notables included Kosheen's Hide U.





I'm talking about bodies movin,

not stop groovin,

asses shakin,

floors are breakin,

queens are freakin,

hoe's are creepin,

divas flowin,

everybody knows to Stand up throw your hands to the sky

Stand up, wo wo, you got to stand up!



Now folks, before everyone starts ragging on me, I just want to let you know that Suzanne's version also makes an appearance in a later mix; so don't start shooting off about who had the better version.  While I am partial to Suzanne Palmer's take, I think both are equally outstanding.  We also got a preview of Ms. Jeanie Tracy's "cha-cha heels" in the Rosabel anthem "The Power".  It wouldn't be until three years later that Rosabel and Jeanie teamed up again to bring a full song dedicated to the cha-cha.  Of course, what would 2001 be without Thunderpuss?  Barry Harris and Chris Cox put out their one and only dance album featuring the number one "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" and outstanding anthem "Stand Up" featuring Latanza Waters.  Funny thing is that I didn't even realize that Mobin Master remade that song last year.  It was featured on my Electro-funk 2008 v6 and I gave it a five-star rating then.  I guess it just shows you a good song is still a good song, no matter who does it.



Finally, Thunderpuss also delivered the massive Janet Jackson cut "All For You".  With all the prog stuff hitting the charts, it was always nice to lighten things up with some more commercial takes of a pop hit, and boy was this a  BIG one!  The other big one was Pink's "Get the Party Started".  The strange thing about that song is that it never charted because LaFace Records never authorized any mixes.  Frankly, I think that was a huge miscalculation on their part.  I guess they were just acting pissy because she moved away from the R&B nature of her first album and into ...

Further episodes of Party Favorz

Further podcasts by Keith a.k.a. K j A M

Website of Keith a.k.a. K j A M