The penultimate round of the League Of Tracks is a companion to the excellent poll we’ve just been going through on the main site, exploring the work of Black musicians between 1978 and 1981, from the zenith of disco through the birth of rap on record to the first stirrings of house and techno.

256 awesome tracks is, it turns out, simply not enough, so here are 11 more. When you’re done listening, go vote in the poll post!

As usual there’s a Spotify and a YouTube playlist. Annoyingly, this time BOTH are missing songs, but they’re different ones. If you listen to the YouTube playlist you’ll get everything except Francis Bebey’s “Libreville”. I’ve moved “Libreville” to the beginning of the Spotify playlist to make it easier to catch up.

But Spotify is missing three tracks which ARE on the YouTube list, from The Romantic Noise, J Walter Negro, and Ranking Joe. So you will need both, sorry (or if you’re not on Spotify, another way to hear “Libreville”).

Spotify playlist:

And the relevant YouTube section:

Here’s what we’re listening to this time. In a League Of Tracks FIRST, we have two nominations from the same artist!

  1. FRANCIS BEBEY – “Libreville”. From 1981’s Bia So Nika. Spotify only.
  2. MELBA MOORE – “Pick Me Up, I’ll Dance”. From 1978’s Melba.
  3. BENNIE MAUPIN – “Anua”. From 1978’s Moonscapes.
  4. THE ROMANTIC NOISE – “I Fell In Love With A Baby”. A self-released 1978 single. YouTube only.
  5. PAULINHO DA COSTA – “Deja Vu”. A 1979 single on Pablo.
  6. ODYSSEY – “Use It Up And Wear It Out”. From 1980’s Hang Together.
  7. GODMOMA – “Godmoma Here”. From 1981’s Here.
  8. RANKING JOE – “Tribute To John Lennon”. From 1981’s Tribute To John Lennon. YouTube only.
  9. JIMMY ROSS – “Fall Into A Trance”. From 1981’s First Time Love Affair.
  10. J WALTER NEGRO & THE LOOSE JOINTZ – “Shoot The Pump”. A 1981 single on Zoo York Rekordz.
  11. GODMOMA – “Hands Up (Punk Funk)”. From 1981’s Here
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