Edwin Birdsong | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 22, 1941 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | January 21, 2019 (aged 77) Inglewood, California, U.S. [1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instrument(s) | |
| Years active | 1971–2019 |
| Labels | |
| Website |
edwinbirdsong |
Edwin L. Birdsong (August 22, 1941 – January 21, 2019) [2] [3] was an American keyboardist and organist, known in the 1970s and 1980s for his experimental funk/ disco music. Birdsong did not achieve much chart success, but developed a strong fan base, [4] and has also been sampled by other artists many times, most famously by Daft Punk who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in " Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", and Gang Starr who sampled his single "Rapper Dapper Snapper" for their song "Skills". [3]
Biography
Birdsong was the son of a minister and grew up in a strict fundamentalist environment. [5] He joined the Los Angeles Community Choir for a period before serving in the army during the Vietnam War era. While in the army, he was stationed in Germany. [5] He went on to play in clubs in Germany, and then moved to New York City to pursue his music career. There he headed a jazz and blues trio but experienced little success. While in New York he attended the Manhattan School of Music as well as Juilliard as a composition major. [5]
In 1971 he signed a record deal with Polydor. [5] Under Polydor, he issued his first two full-length albums, What It Is and Supernatural. [5] Birdsong then issued one album for Bamboo, Dance of Survival, in 1975, and recorded Edwin Birdsong for Philadelphia International in 1979, which included the single "Phiss-Phizz". [5] Birdsong also worked extensively with Roy Ayers, [3] co-producing three of his albums and writing "Running Away" and "Freaky Deaky" with him. [5]
Birdsong slowly stopped making his own music but carried on playing session work for many well known artists including Stevie Wonder. [5]
Birdsong served as a mentor early in the career of hip-hop artist/producer Funkghost. [6]
Discography
Albums
- What It Is (1972, Polydor)
- Supernatural (1973, Polydor)
- Dance of Survival (1975, Bamboo)
- Edwin Birdsong (1979, Philadelphia International)
- Funtaztik (1981, Uni Records, Salsoul)
Singles
| Year | Song |
US R&B [7] [8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "Rising Sign" | — | |||
| "Turn Around Hate (Communicate)" | — | ||||
| 1975 | "Dance of Survival" | — | |||
| 1978 | "Kunta Dance" | — | |||
| 1979 | "Phiss-Phizz" | — | |||
| "Cola Bottle Baby" | — | ||||
| "Lollipop" / "Freaky Deaky Sities" | — | ||||
| 1980 | "Rapper Dapper Snapper" | 65 | |||
| 1981 | "Funtaztik" | — | |||
| 1982 | "She's Wrapped Too Tight (She's a Button Buster)" | 55 | |||
| 1984 | "Perfect Love'n" | — | |||
| 1985 | "Too Good to Go (When You Get It Right)" | — | |||
| "Son of a Rapper Dapper Snapper" | — | ||||
| 1986 | "For My Self" | — | |||
| 1987 | "Percolator" | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
References
- ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (January 29, 2019). "Edwin Birdsong, Whose Music Was Reborn in Hip Hop, Dies at 77". The New York Times.
- ^ U.S. Public Records Index, Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
- ^ a b c Savage, Mark (January 23, 2019). "Edwin Birdsong: Funk musician sampled by Daft Punk dies". BBC News. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ "Legendary fusion musician Edwin Birdsong joins the ancestors". New York Amsterdam News. March 7, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wynn, Ron. "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ "Edwin Birdsong is the man behind jazz-funk's cosmic moments". Wax Poetics. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 59.
- ^ "Edwin Birdsong Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
External links
- Edwin Birdsong discography at Discogs
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1941 births
- 2019 deaths
- American jazz organists
- American male organists
- Jazz-funk organists
- Musicians from Los Angeles
- Juilliard School alumni
- Manhattan School of Music alumni
- Polydor Records artists
- Philadelphia International Records artists
- Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
- Jazz musicians from California
- Military personnel from California
- American male jazz musicians
- United States Army soldiers
Edwin Birdsong | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 22, 1941 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | January 21, 2019 (aged 77) Inglewood, California, U.S. [1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instrument(s) | |
| Years active | 1971–2019 |
| Labels | |
| Website |
edwinbirdsong |
Edwin L. Birdsong (August 22, 1941 – January 21, 2019) [2] [3] was an American keyboardist and organist, known in the 1970s and 1980s for his experimental funk/ disco music. Birdsong did not achieve much chart success, but developed a strong fan base, [4] and has also been sampled by other artists many times, most famously by Daft Punk who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in " Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", and Gang Starr who sampled his single "Rapper Dapper Snapper" for their song "Skills". [3]
Biography
Birdsong was the son of a minister and grew up in a strict fundamentalist environment. [5] He joined the Los Angeles Community Choir for a period before serving in the army during the Vietnam War era. While in the army, he was stationed in Germany. [5] He went on to play in clubs in Germany, and then moved to New York City to pursue his music career. There he headed a jazz and blues trio but experienced little success. While in New York he attended the Manhattan School of Music as well as Juilliard as a composition major. [5]
In 1971 he signed a record deal with Polydor. [5] Under Polydor, he issued his first two full-length albums, What It Is and Supernatural. [5] Birdsong then issued one album for Bamboo, Dance of Survival, in 1975, and recorded Edwin Birdsong for Philadelphia International in 1979, which included the single "Phiss-Phizz". [5] Birdsong also worked extensively with Roy Ayers, [3] co-producing three of his albums and writing "Running Away" and "Freaky Deaky" with him. [5]
Birdsong slowly stopped making his own music but carried on playing session work for many well known artists including Stevie Wonder. [5]
Birdsong served as a mentor early in the career of hip-hop artist/producer Funkghost. [6]
Discography
Albums
- What It Is (1972, Polydor)
- Supernatural (1973, Polydor)
- Dance of Survival (1975, Bamboo)
- Edwin Birdsong (1979, Philadelphia International)
- Funtaztik (1981, Uni Records, Salsoul)
Singles
| Year | Song |
US R&B [7] [8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "Rising Sign" | — | |||
| "Turn Around Hate (Communicate)" | — | ||||
| 1975 | "Dance of Survival" | — | |||
| 1978 | "Kunta Dance" | — | |||
| 1979 | "Phiss-Phizz" | — | |||
| "Cola Bottle Baby" | — | ||||
| "Lollipop" / "Freaky Deaky Sities" | — | ||||
| 1980 | "Rapper Dapper Snapper" | 65 | |||
| 1981 | "Funtaztik" | — | |||
| 1982 | "She's Wrapped Too Tight (She's a Button Buster)" | 55 | |||
| 1984 | "Perfect Love'n" | — | |||
| 1985 | "Too Good to Go (When You Get It Right)" | — | |||
| "Son of a Rapper Dapper Snapper" | — | ||||
| 1986 | "For My Self" | — | |||
| 1987 | "Percolator" | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
References
- ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (January 29, 2019). "Edwin Birdsong, Whose Music Was Reborn in Hip Hop, Dies at 77". The New York Times.
- ^ U.S. Public Records Index, Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
- ^ a b c Savage, Mark (January 23, 2019). "Edwin Birdsong: Funk musician sampled by Daft Punk dies". BBC News. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ "Legendary fusion musician Edwin Birdsong joins the ancestors". New York Amsterdam News. March 7, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wynn, Ron. "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ "Edwin Birdsong is the man behind jazz-funk's cosmic moments". Wax Poetics. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 59.
- ^ "Edwin Birdsong Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
External links
- Edwin Birdsong discography at Discogs
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1941 births
- 2019 deaths
- American jazz organists
- American male organists
- Jazz-funk organists
- Musicians from Los Angeles
- Juilliard School alumni
- Manhattan School of Music alumni
- Polydor Records artists
- Philadelphia International Records artists
- Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
- Jazz musicians from California
- Military personnel from California
- American male jazz musicians
- United States Army soldiers