You Didn’t Say a Word is a classic flipped disc: at first, merely the B-side to Baker’s 1967 torch ballad To Prove My Love Is True, until DJs discovered its club-friendly potential. Indeed, a funkier recording by co-writer Jean Wells would later end up on an actual film soundtrack (for 2014 YSL biopic Saint Laurent). Tellingly, Renzetti was a film buff (who would later pick up an Oscar for his work on The Buddy Holly Story). It was fronted by Philadelphia singer Yvonne Baker (nee Mills), previously a member of doo-wop band the Sensations, but the distinctive arrangement was down to prolific composer and guitarist Joe Renzetti, whose CV includes dozens of hits from Chubby Checker’s Let’s Twist Again to Barry Manilow’s Mandy to Bobby Hebb’s Sunny. The James Bond song was so nicknamed because its underlying melody bore a pronounced resemblance to the 007 gun-barrel theme. One of the ironies of northern soul is that the modern dilettante has access to more information about the artists and records than even the most obsessive fan at the time, when the identities of highly localised dancefloor hits, sometimes associated with just one venue, were jealously guarded by DJs who stuck plain white paper over the labels in order to prevent rivals from stealing their set. Many of the feather-cut kids in their three-star tops, flare-flapping Oxford bags and slippery Solatio shoes would have known this as the James Bond song. Even the fairy-dust twinkle of its piano topline evokes the heart-racing amphetamine thrills of the all-nighter.
#TOP 10 DJ QUIK SONGS PRO#
In 1966 Dobie Gray, a versatile old pro who was equally as comfortable singing country as cabaret, recorded a celebration of nocturnal kicks whose lyrics seemed to uncannily anticipate the northern soul scene. That’s why it would be redundant to fill this list with the titles everyone knows, although it would be churlish not to include some obvious selections, like Out on the Floor, for starters. Northern soul is a culture based on chance finds, crate-digging and word-of-mouth recommendations. Despite the sterling work of legendary DJ Kev Roberts in producing an “official” Northern Soul Top 500, or the many charts in books like Wigan Casino DJ Russ Winstanley’s Soul Survivors and David Nowell’s Too Darn Soulful, or efforts by admirable amateurs like Terry Christian (whose personal Top 100 is packed with treasures), there is no carved-in-stone canon – everyone’s journey through it is unique. It’s a genre that inherently defies definitive list-making.
Since it first emerged in the dancehalls of northern England in the late 60s, it has existed in direct opposition to the very concept of greatest hits. It’s a scene that has always thrived on the rare, the obscure and the undiscovered. Vegetarians beware.One of the many beauties of northern soul is its sheer unknowability. So with beef always in season, Complex has compiled the 50 best hip-hop diss songs for your consumption. Mothers, women, and children have all been involved. And in the YouTube era, a rapper just might show up to your house with a camera crew looking for a brawl. The ante is constantly being upped to keep the fans entertained, so lines will be crossed while artists strive to find unique and creative ways to slander their opponents.
But what once began as two rappers simply battling over skill has turned into big business-with parody music videos, elaborate stage shows, and entire albums dedicated to the coveted battle. Certain MCs have built entire careers around beefing with other artists, while others have had their careers destroyed with just a couple lines. One slip-up and you could find yourself with a one-way ticket to obscurity. Hip-hop is a culture built around machismo and bravado, so backing down or losing a battle is detrimental to an artist's career. Dating back to the time Big Bank Hank of the Sugar Hill Gang borrowed Grandmaster Caz's rhyme book and used his lyrics without credit on "Rapper's Delight," MCs have been feuding on and off wax.
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