5
1. Eddie Kendricks
Boogie Down
(Frank Wilson-Leonard Caston-Anita Poree)
Tamla 54243
No longer the sky-high lead tenor of
The Temptations, Eddie Kendricks
was now a certified soul star in his
own right, riding the surging disco
wave to new commercial heights. His
Keep On Truckin’ (Part 1)
(see our
previous volume in this series),
produced by longtime Motown
staffer Frank Wilson, had paced
both the pop and R&B hit parades in
1973. He almost achieved the same
feat with
Boogie Down
, which topped
the R&B charts but stopped one slot
shy on the pop side in early ’74.
Once again, producers Wilson and Leonard Caston were Union Springs,
Alabama-born Kendricks’ studio masterminds, writing
Boogie Down
with
lyricist Anita Poree (the same trio dreamed up
Keep On Truckin’
). The
arrangement by keyboardist Caston and David Van DePitte was in the
disco wheelhouse. The band assembled at Hollywood’s Crystal Sound
for the ‘Boogie Down!’ album also including familiar faces James Jamerson
on bass, percussionist Jack Ashford, guitarists Dennis Coffey and Melvin
‘Wah Wah Watson’ Ragin, and drummers Gene Pello and James Gadson.
