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Behind the Grooves is a blog written by Jeff Harris .  He posts these awesome "Today in Music History" posts on Facebook and This was one (of many) for  today.  Definitely check out his page if you love musicology.

From:  http://behindthegrooves.tumblr.com/

 


"On this day in music history: October 4, 1980 - "Funkin' For Jamaica
(N.Y.)" by Tom Browne hits #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart for
4 weeks, also peaking at #9 on the Club Play chart. Written by Tom
Browne and Toni Smith, it is the biggest hit for the former commercial
pilot turned jazz trumpeter. Browne will come up with the initial idea
for the song at his parents home, later collaborating with singer Toni
Smith (not Chaka Khan, as she has been often mistaken to be on this
song) will write the lyrics for the song. The track features co-producer
Dave Grusin ( piano), Marcus Miller (bass), Bobby Broom (guitar),
Bernard Wright (synthesizers), Buddy Williams (drums) and Earl "Crusher"
Bennett (percussion). In spite of the records' huge R&B chart
success, it will not make the Hot 100 chart. Over the years, "Funkin'
For Jamaica" will be sampled widely in Hip Hop and the song's hooks
interpolated into many R&B records, cementing its status as a
Funk/R&B classic."