Dave Lee gets entirely too little credit for doing the work that we must to educate the masses on the secret history of dance music. Tens of millions know Cheryl Lynn from “Got To Be Real,” her 1978 debut. Lynn has had a prestigious post-“Real” career — nine albums worth, which is more than most singers who caught on in the last years of disco.
But there’s been an understandable but unfair dearth of attention on her work from the 1980s. Lee dredges Columbia’s archival stack on “Shake It Up Tonight,” Lynn’s 1981 single and the lead track from her 1981 album In The Night, which featured some of the most unintentionally surreal cover art of any pop album of its era:
The album and singles were produced by Ray Parker, Jr. — yeah, the “Ghostbusters” guy — just after the demise of his project Raydio.
Released under Dave Lee’s “Prospect Park” alias, these are the quality mixes “Shake It Up Tonight” deserved, albeit 40 years later. Dave Lee’s Disco Re-Shake is uptempo with angelic strings, while the Jazzy Re-Shake skips across that heavenly bough with what’s described as a George Benson jazz guitar sound.
Prospect Park: Shake It Up Tonight (Z Records / October 2021 / Digital)
1. Prospect Park: Shake It Up Tonight (Dave Lee’s Disco Re-Shake) (07:20)
2. Prospect Park: Shake It Up Tonight (Dave Lee’s Jazzy Re-Shake) (07:13)
⚪️ Disclosure Statement: This record was submitted as a promo on behalf of the label.
This was originally published in #FutureShock: 5 Mag Issue #193 with Oona Dahl, Art of Tones, More Ghost Than Man and more. Support 5 Mag by becoming a member for as little as $1 per issue.
