And now a brief break from angry rantings!
Back in 1983, part way through our Reagan nightmare and just into the world of AIDS, disco was still big in NYC despite its competition from new wave and MTV-based pop. I remember a wonderfully catchy and optimistic single coming out from singer Fonda Rae called "Heobah." Fonda Rae never made it terribly big despite being a pretty familiar studio voice (she's probably best known for singing "Deputy of Love", not under her own name).
"Heobah" was the follow-up to an equally-catchy "Over Like A Fat Rat." But both singles were on a small label, and apparently her solo career just couldn't compete with slicker fare. I remember picking up the single on 12", and surely it was playing in the gay dance clubs cause that wretched "hi-energy" hadn't yet forced out everything soulful and funky.
I'm pleased to report that "Heobah" has seen the light of day on a new compilation called The New York Sound 2, out on BGP, a UK label. It's available, of course, from Dustygroove.
Well I never paid that much attention to the lyrics before, but listening to it non stop for several days I've finally realized that "Heobah" is "Jehovah" and that the song is about God. Which is kinda sweet, adding the song to the ranks of spiritually-inspired songs that please both saints and sinners. I love that canon of righteous, spiritually positive music, quite big in the seventies, which avoided the crass, sanctimonious and preachy commercial smarm of latter-day so-called Christian music.
I'm pretty happy to tap my foot to God. Cuz s/he just wants us to be happy and boogy down. Yay, Heobah!
1/2010 Update: If you're looking for this song I strongly recommend you read the comments!
