American culture owes much to the disc jockey profession. Whether on the radio or behind turntables at a club, the DJ has always been on the forefront of setting musical trends by debuting unknown artists and upcoming genres. As a result, styles of music gain immense popularity until a new trend is set. It’s a cyclic pattern and DJs always seem to play a strong role in it, whether the music is contemporary or forty-five-years-old! The genres of northern soul and Latin boogaloo are two styles of music that were immensely popular in particular regions back in the 1960s and now have renewed exposure in the record digging community. The fact that the music is incredibly danceable has helped its revival but looking deeper, the influence of the disc jockey is an integral component of their resurgence.
NORTHERN SOUL
One of the Rarest in Existence
Northern Soul is one of the most notable trends in today’s vinyl market yet it actually took root in the music subculture of England. There was a crucial point in the split of the mod culture in the mid-to-late 1960s when new trends of music took hold. Mods were always interested in American soul and R&B records in addition to the emerging British rock scene of the early 1960s. As that rock scene turned more psychedelic, the influx of Jamaicans into the UK helped establish the ska, rocksteady and skinhead scenes while a faction of the mod culture continued to exclusively embrace and explore the massive American soul scene ( independent and unknown soul artists from the USA that never made it big in particular). Artists who recorded one song in the style of Detroit Soul and then disappeared were crucial to the emerging DJ who wanted to be the first to debut a northern soul recording in a club. Popular soul artists, like Edwin Starr and Tammi Terrell, were embraced as well but the more obscure an artist meant greater notoriety for a DJ. This trend continued to go in and out of popularity throughout the 1970s British scene but within the past few years has reemerged with avengence for record collectors in both the US and the UK.
So what exactly is northern soul? Some say it’s a style of soul music being played with a solid, danceable beat regardless of artist popularity while others get more specific, claiming its origin from the location of certain clubs, shops or scenes in Manchester, England. While the music on many of the recordings is fantastic, it surely does not garner the insanely high price tags that some of these 45rpm singles receive. See for yourself by perusing the database at Collectors Frenzy of some of the top northern soul pieces that have fetched ludicrous prices regardless of condition at times.
LATIN BOOGALOO
This is a foundational boogaloo LP everyone should own
Within the vinyl culture, collecting Latin boogaloo seemed inevitable. The style of music developed in the 1960s Puerto Rican New York neighborhoods where young musicians helped bridge more traditional Latin rhythms with American soul and R&B recordings. The pairing resulted in an intoxicating blend of danceable rhythm that contained the perfect blend of Latin percussion and brass with a solid backbeat. Many veteran players of the Latin scene from the 1950s scoffed at this new fusion, but the results produced a sound that became widely accepted by a younger audience of Spanish, African-American and Caucasian listeners. Artists like Joe Cuba, Johnny Zamot, Pete Rodriguez and Louie Ramierez were responsible for some of the more stand out recordings, and the labels Fania, Cotique, Alegre and Tico were recognizable brands that churned out truckloads of incredible records. By the 1970s though, salsa music took a foothold in the burgeoning Latin market and boogaloo slipped out of popularity.
Monguito Sanatamaria LP
Fast forward to the turn of this century. The demand for original boogaloo recordings has skyrocketed due in part to trendsetting DJs throwing exclusive boogaloo dance nights. Boogaloo is the type of music that forces anybody with the slightest hint of rhythm to feel the beat flowing through their veins. It’s a virus that spreads like wildfire over a dance floor as soon as the needle is dropped. Luckily, the latin boogaloo trend is a tad easier on the wallet for new collectors to discover amazing artists but, of course, there are obscure recordings that keep the market desirable for dealers and lucrative for emerging DJs trying to play the hottest, most unknown holy grails.
STILL GETTING YOUR FEET WET IN THE VINYL POOL?
Due to vinyl’s resurgence in the music buying public, hordes of new enthusiasts starting record collections for the first time are being welcomed into the circle. Before jumping into the heavy hitters like the northern soul genre or original Lexington Blue Notes, the new buyer needs foundational albums to take root. Talking Heads 77, Thelonious Monk Criss-Cross, The Doors Waiting For The Sun, The Beatles White Album, Marvin Gaye What’s Goin On and all of those hundreds, if not thousands, of timeless discs are in demand like never before. As new collectors join the club, it will be interesting to see what vinyl-buying trends arise from all these fresh perspectives.
Have an insatiable appetite to dig deeper? Mid-to-late 1970s obscure disco, Cumbia, Afro-beat and private homemade pressings of all genres are a few other high-priced trends cooking on the burner. But if you happen to find that holy grail collection of original 1960s and 1970s Nigerian Afro-Beat recordings, please give me a call.
Keep Digging!
-Gregorious-
White label disc jockey promos. Withdrawn 45 picture sleeves pressed in Sweden. Mint Lexingtons with a deep groove, flat edge and RVG in the run off. While this terminology is alien to the general population, these words were often murmured throughout the WFMU Record & CD Fair held at Metropolitan Pavilion’s expansive convention space in downtown Manhattan from October 23rd-26th. Fuzzed out, foot stomping, head banging and shoe gazing grooves from every period of music could be found this past weekend as millions of records were available for purchase under one roof.
My nook in the corner attracted a fair share of collectors seeking out all kinds of genres— many attracted by my display of dozens of records plastered all over the wall behind me. Even so, the fair was sprinkled with highly specialized dealers hawking very specific albums and singles. Crates littered with ludicrously rare Nigerian high-life and afro-beat records could be found close to the stacks of mouth watering Brazilian psych and jazz pieces brought straight from São Paulo. Collectors of Northern Soul 45s (read next week’s post “Trends in Collecting”) could be seen satisfying their fix as buyers sought out anything obscure on the favorable 45rpm medium. Beyond all the rare and expensive vinyl that can empty a pocket of cash in an eye blink, the record fair also offered up a plethora of bargain discs for casual shoppers who favor paying for wax in single digit values. Despite my addiction to vinyl and my insatiable appetite to consume overwhelming amounts of it, I did not make many purchases this weekend. From behind my table, I enjoyed the countless hours of meeting new people and watching interesting specimens of the human race. For every ordinary music loving person that would walk past, at least two examples of your stereotypical music fanatic —smelling of old records and body odor—would shuffle by.
2009 has been a big year for British punk legends 
