Post by erik on Mar 19, 2022 18:02:02 GMT -5
A cult disco hit from the winter of 1976-77 is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight, from French-born drummer Mark Cerrone (who goes by his last name).
LOVE IN C MINOR (Cerrone; Atlantic; 1977)—Although now considered only a minor figure in both disco and electronic dance music (unlike Giorgio Moroder), Mark Cerrone, a disco drummer who went by his last name Cerrone, nevertheless achieved a certain level of cult success in Europe during the late 1970’s. Having gotten interested in music through the groundbreaking soul music of Otis Redding, and, later, the music of Santana and various other American rock acts (notably Blood, Sweat, and Tears), Cerrone began his recording career with the 1974 album Afro Rock. But his biggest international success was to come during the winter of 1976-77, with a fairly typical but nevertheless hypnotic combination of disco rhythm, synthesizers, and string orchestras, and a hit single called “Love In C Minor”. It was a far larger hit in places like Spain, France, and Italy; but it managed to find a sizeable amount of success on both English and American dance floors, first reaching #31 in England in January 1977; and three months later, in April, it peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as #2 on Billboard’s Disco chart, and #29 on the R&B chart. While this would prove to be Cerrone’s biggest overall hit, he kept himself extremely busy well into the millennium, working with such U.S. acts as Nile Rodgers (of Chic fame), Toto, LaToya Jackson, and Laura Branigan.
LOVE IN C MINOR (Cerrone; Atlantic; 1977)—Although now considered only a minor figure in both disco and electronic dance music (unlike Giorgio Moroder), Mark Cerrone, a disco drummer who went by his last name Cerrone, nevertheless achieved a certain level of cult success in Europe during the late 1970’s. Having gotten interested in music through the groundbreaking soul music of Otis Redding, and, later, the music of Santana and various other American rock acts (notably Blood, Sweat, and Tears), Cerrone began his recording career with the 1974 album Afro Rock. But his biggest international success was to come during the winter of 1976-77, with a fairly typical but nevertheless hypnotic combination of disco rhythm, synthesizers, and string orchestras, and a hit single called “Love In C Minor”. It was a far larger hit in places like Spain, France, and Italy; but it managed to find a sizeable amount of success on both English and American dance floors, first reaching #31 in England in January 1977; and three months later, in April, it peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as #2 on Billboard’s Disco chart, and #29 on the R&B chart. While this would prove to be Cerrone’s biggest overall hit, he kept himself extremely busy well into the millennium, working with such U.S. acts as Nile Rodgers (of Chic fame), Toto, LaToya Jackson, and Laura Branigan.