Wired 96.5...

[Morpheux]

Just threw a massive Freestyle Bash.....why is it that no station would put these type of events for any non freestyle dance artists in the last 20 years? Is it because most of the dance artists are just fly by night with no real following?

 

[Dancerev889]

Wow do you have no clue. Both Energy stations do shows. My station has done 3 shows. None of which besides Joe Zangie were freestyle artists. WMPH has done shows with out freestyle artists. We all do them. Besides Wired didnt throw the party, they were just a sponsor for the show. It was all done by a promoter. Wired doesnt even play that much of the music unless you consider 3 songs on Friday playing the music. Hell I do that within a hour

 

[CHRles]

I agree with DanceRev.

As for Freestyle, it was at its peak between the late 80s to early 90s. Who else was around back then? Let's see. Madonna, who would be too expensive for a "massive freestyle bash". You had Whitney Houston on the Dance charts who would be too expensive. New Order? too expensive. Kylie Minogue? Still on the charts, kickin ass and too expensive. Erasure? Too expensive. Prince? Too expensive. Gloria Estefan? Too expensive. Debbie Gisbon and Tiffany? I think they still tour on occasion. Pet Shop Boys? Too expensive. Sandra? Too expensive. Eurythmics? Annie Lenox is too expensive. Samantha Fox? I think she retired awhile back. Rick Astley? Not singing anymore. Information Society? Broke up. C&C Music Factory? One of them sadly passed away. Milli Vanilli? Thankfully not around anymore, and one of them commited suicide. Kim Wilde? Still performing. Underworld? Still performing at massive EDM events. Martika? I don't know what she's up to these days. Scooter came out a little later, in 94, and they're still going very strong.
A lot of the 90s acts were similar to New York's C&C Music Factory - they were producer-based moreso then about a particular singer. The DJs/producers have become bigger then ever, as Tiesto now outsells stadiums, as did Oakie, Armin, Sasha & Digweed, while PVD has played at places like Central Park a number of times (so has Armin). They're expensive to book, yet Miami's former Dance station Party 93.1 was able to bring both PVD and Tiesto to its 4th of July parties.

Back to Freestyle, there were some good records coming out, especially in the early years. Noel, for example, had a unique voice, and his videos were actually pretty good compared to the hillarious Stevie B videos.
Noel's "Silent Morning"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=D8fZ6xUmPiQ

Noel's "Like A Child"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kQS9Ts55dHE

Notice that Lil Suzy's "Take Me In Your Arms" intro completely rips off the intro to "Like A Child". Also notice the production on Noel's records were ten times better then most of the Freestyle songs that came later (especially the mid 90s). "Like A Child" even includes a part where the song goes House, and the song is from 1988 mind you.

The production on Stevie B's records was also unique/cut above the rest, as was Stevie's voice. The videos though left a lot to be desired:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CSvzKqn3Ob4

Stevie's haircuts were, ummm, different And Timmy T's "Time After Time" video was very cheesy. He always had some line towards the end where he's talking saying something like "oh girl..."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yhAvnMgVWTo

Anybody ever seen some of the Coro videos? What the


Most of the best sounding Freestyle records were usually from NYC. George Lamond's "Bad Of The Heart" had a good sound.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qw1ZxcOXXgE

My alltime favorite Freestyle record didn't become a major Pop hit, but was big at a number of Top 40/Dance stations at the time - Cynthia's "Change On Me"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_5p-jjuQFjs

And if we're talking about alltime favorites gotta mention TKA's "Louder Then Love"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HS47k0HcOxc

Some of the artists were young when they started out like Lil Suzy's "Take Me In Your Arms"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LLNfYtcKMaw&feature=related

Or Shana "I Want You", which had a great production to it
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9WiDFmqqY0U

Other videos blended pretty well with the type of videos seen on MTV. Such was the case with Linear's "Sending All My Love"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=artK5RbwSr0

A couple of years prior to that Raina Paige's video to "Open Up Your Heart" was pretty good
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5J2CjGudppo&feature=related

The biggest Freestyle records tended to be the ballads. Starting with semi-Freestyle acts like Expose, a mainstay on Adult Contemporary radio. Remember "Seasons Change"?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BcWfpPgeAP4

Or Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam's "All Cried Out"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=16shEIbNVmo

The trend really started though with songs like "Promise Me" from the Cover Girls
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9_MkSoEKkpg

Will To Power's number one smash "Baby I Love Your Way"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6KD1EQMevRA

Sa-Fire's "Thinking Of You"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nfj7tcIK8xM

Similar to "Thinking Of You" was Sweet Sensation's "If Wishes Came True" (a number one hit), which was also reminiscent of Debbie Gibson's "Foolish Beat", and some of the Wilson Phillips hits:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wHqqraFrrd0

Stevie B's "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)", another huge number one hit
http://youtube.com/watch?v=09qBdgqwYJY

Timmy T's "One More Try", which I believe went to the top as well
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3dYGkuGwc


The thing is, Freestyle actually first broke out with black and British singers under the first wave of Electro music (very different from today's Electr sounds). Freez "I O U"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pMqUMrH9kb8

Afrika Bambaataa "Planet Rock"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9h6pcqC6wrI&feature=related

That same year C-Bank with Jenny Burton had "One More Shot"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8sYpMknvEvE&feature=related

And what about this one from Starpoint from 1985, "Object of My Desire"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yNhz0UaBu5g&feature=related

Very similar to the tye pf records Whitney Houston gave us a year later. or Sweet Sensation's "Hooked On you"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jZgJiWy56qI&feature=related

Going back to C-Bank, how about this one from 1985
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-llJUiR25jc&feature=related

WBMX Chicago, the station usually credited with the rise of House music, is also likely where Freestyle music took off long before Hot 103 and Power 106.

 

[chrisorlando]

And my all time favorite freestyle record

Jaya - If You Leave Me Now

 

[CHRles]

Pulse 87 is currently playing "Like A Child" by Noel 8)

 

[Morpheux]

I agree with DanceRev.

As for Freestyle, it was at its peak between the late 80s to early 90s. Who else was around back then? Let's see. Madonna, who would be too expensive for a "massive freestyle bash". You had Whitney Houston on the Dance charts who would be too expensive. New Order? too expensive. Kylie Minogue? Still on the charts, kickin ass and too expensive. Erasure? Too expensive. Prince? Too expensive. Gloria Estefan? Too expensive. Debbie Gisbon and Tiffany? I think they still tour on occasion. Pet Shop Boys? Too expensive. Sandra? Too expensive. Eurythmics? Annie Lenox is too expensive. Samantha Fox? I think she retired awhile back. Rick Astley? Not singing anymore. Information Society? Broke up. C&C Music Factory? One of them sadly passed away. Milli Vanilli? Thankfully not around anymore, and one of them commited suicide. Kim Wilde? Still performing. Underworld? Still performing at massive EDM events. Martika? I don't know what she's up to these days. Scooter came out a little later, in 94, and they're still going very strong.
A lot of the 90s acts were similar to New York's C&C Music Factory - they were producer-based moreso then about a particular singer. The DJs/producers have become bigger then ever, as Tiesto now outsells stadiums, as did Oakie, Armin, Sasha & Digweed, while PVD has played at places like Central Park a number of times (so has Armin). They're expensive to book, yet Miami's former Dance station Party 93.1 was able to bring both PVD and Tiesto to its 4th of July parties.

Back to Freestyle, there were some good records coming out, especially in the early years. Noel, for example, had a unique voice, and his videos were actually pretty good compared to the hillarious Stevie B videos.
Noel's "Silent Morning"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=D8fZ6xUmPiQ

Noel's "Like A Child"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kQS9Ts55dHE

Notice that Lil Suzy's "Take Me In Your Arms" intro completely rips off the intro to "Like A Child". Also notice the production on Noel's records were ten times better then most of the Freestyle songs that came later (especially the mid 90s). "Like A Child" even includes a part where the song goes House, and the song is from 1988 mind you.

The production on Stevie B's records was also unique/cut above the rest, as was Stevie's voice. The videos though left a lot to be desired:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CSvzKqn3Ob4

Stevie's haircuts were, ummm, different And Timmy T's "Time After Time" video was very cheesy. He always had some line towards the end where he's talking saying something like "oh girl..."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yhAvnMgVWTo

Anybody ever seen some of the Coro videos? What the


Most of the best sounding Freestyle records were usually from NYC. George Lamond's "Bad Of The Heart" had a good sound.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qw1ZxcOXXgE

My alltime favorite Freestyle record didn't become a major Pop hit, but was big at a number of Top 40/Dance stations at the time - Cynthia's "Change On Me"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_5p-jjuQFjs

And if we're talking about alltime favorites gotta mention TKA's "Louder Then Love"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HS47k0HcOxc

Some of the artists were young when they started out like Lil Suzy's "Take Me In Your Arms"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LLNfYtcKMaw&feature=related

Or Shana "I Want You", which had a great production to it
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9WiDFmqqY0U

Other videos blended pretty well with the type of videos seen on MTV. Such was the case with Linear's "Sending All My Love"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=artK5RbwSr0

A couple of years prior to that Raina Paige's video to "Open Up Your Heart" was pretty good
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5J2CjGudppo&feature=related

The biggest Freestyle records tended to be the ballads. Starting with semi-Freestyle acts like Expose, a mainstay on Adult Contemporary radio. Remember "Seasons Change"?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BcWfpPgeAP4

Or Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam's "All Cried Out"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=16shEIbNVmo

The trend really started though with songs like "Promise Me" from the Cover Girls
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9_MkSoEKkpg

Will To Power's number one smash "Baby I Love Your Way"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6KD1EQMevRA

Sa-Fire's "Thinking Of You"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nfj7tcIK8xM

Similar to "Thinking Of You" was Sweet Sensation's "If Wishes Came True" (a number one hit), which was also reminiscent of Debbie Gibson's "Foolish Beat", and some of the Wilson Phillips hits:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wHqqraFrrd0

Stevie B's "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)", another huge number one hit
http://youtube.com/watch?v=09qBdgqwYJY

Timmy T's "One More Try", which I believe went to the top as well
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3dYGkuGwc


The thing is, Freestyle actually first broke out with black and British singers under the first wave of Electro music (very different from today's Electr sounds). Freez "I O U"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pMqUMrH9kb8

Afrika Bambaataa "Planet Rock"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9h6pcqC6wrI&feature=related

That same year C-Bank with Jenny Burton had "One More Shot"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8sYpMknvEvE&feature=related

And what about this one from Starpoint from 1985, "Object of My Desire"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yNhz0UaBu5g&feature=related

Very similar to the tye pf records Whitney Houston gave us a year later. or Sweet Sensation's "Hooked On you"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jZgJiWy56qI&feature=related

Going back to C-Bank, how about this one from 1985
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-llJUiR25jc&feature=related

WBMX Chicago, the station usually credited with the rise of House music, is also likely where Freestyle music took off long before Hot 103 and Power 106.

Madonna,Prince,Whitney Houston,Gloria Estefan are not a fair comparison because these artists started off with "dance" music and crossover to become major stars. So much so that they're icons. A better comparison would be the house artists of the 80's early 90's. You mentioned some of the Euro artists who happend to be not in the biz anymore but I think its fair to say they don't have a stong enough following here. Simply because they were fly by night artists who happen to have one or two "pop" hits and then faded away. There's no denying the staying power of the freestyle artists. Most of the big names are book solidly thoughout the year even more so that current dance artists here in the US. I think that KTU once did a reunion type of concert once for some House artists from the 80's/ealry 90's but that was like 5 ys ago.

As for freestyle on pulse, I have heard more classic feestyle being played in the last week. This is probably because they're beginning to be measure for Arb and want to pull in a larger audience.

 

[Morpheux]

I forgot to mention that the culture of dance music is to always be playing the latest dance recod. If its 3 months old its like the record was from last year and therefore ancient in dance circles. This is probably why freestyle has stuck aound after peaking in the 90's. The freestyle culture is more loyal to the music rather than being the latest trend.

 

[Morpheux]

PS excuse some of the words on my previous post that are missing an R. My keyboard is malfunctioning.

 

[JohnParker]

CHRles,

NYC was always the home of Freestyle before Miami or Chicago, and while Hot 97 gets all the credit for "breaking" freestyle, B91 was really the one that got there first. We just didn't have the reach that they did. All the artists came by, did shows, played us their records months before going anywhere else and the biggest Freestyle label, Mic-Mac, was founded by a B91 alumni Mickey Garcia. He would bring the artists up as he was working on their hits. A truly magical time.

jp