Every Tuesday, the Analog Kid blog goes back in time and features some of the best groovy R&B/soul songs from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Sometimes you’ll hear songs from individual artists or from a specific year, and other times you’ll get an entire full-length classic LP ripped directly from the Analog Kid’s vast vinyl vault. Warning: by R&B/soul, I also mean disco. I could go all Village People on your ass at any given moment, so just be ready!
The Analog Kid Blog first featured “Float On” back in December of 2013 on a Groovy Tuesday blog about the great songs of 1977, but that entry featured the edited 7″ single cut. That minimalist version of “Float On” was good enough to reach #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in September of 1977, yet it pales in comparison to the smoldering full-length album version.
“Float On” may have been the only hit song for The Floaters, but don’t feel too bad for Ralph, Charles, Paul, and Larry. They may have been kept from the prized #1 slot by tracks from Andy Gibb & The Emotions, but there’s no shame in losing out to songs written by Barry Gibb and Maurice White. Besides, “Float On” somehow managed to encapsulate everything that was so awesome about the ’70s into one twelve-minute smorgasbord of sensuality. Even Barry Gibb and his fabulous chest hair had to be impressed…
The Floaters: “Float On” (Marvin Willis/Arnold Ingram/James Mitchell)
From the album Floaters
ABC Records, 1977
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
The Floaters: “Float On” [7″ Version] (Marvin Willis/Arnold Ingram/James Mitchell)
ABC Records, 1977
Andy Gibb: “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” (Barry Gibb)
From the album Flowing Rivers
RSO Records, 1977
I Just Want To Be Your Everything
The Emotions: “Best Of My Love” (Maurice White/Al McKay)
From the album Rejoice
Columbia Records, 1977
Filed under: One-Hit Wonders, Pop, Soul/R&B Tagged: Analog Kid, Andy Gibb, Barry Gibb, Best Of My Love, Float On, Floaters, Groovy Tuesday, I Just Want To Be Your Evrything, Maurice White, The Emotions
