GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of one DJ and five rappers, the group’s use of turntablism, break-beat deejaying, choreographed stage routines, and lyricism was a significant force in the early development of hip-hop music. The group rose to fame in the early 1980’s with their first successful single “Freedom” and later on with their magnum opus “The Message”, which is often cited as among the most influential hip hop songs. The group was active for five years and released two studio albums. In 2007, it became the first hip hop group ever to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (More from Wikipedia)
With guest musician Henry Scott III (who also worked in the studio with Ja Ja Ja), the band toured extensively in Europe and New York; their concerts at New York’s Danceteria were well received, with Melle Mel from old-school rap legends Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in enthusiastic attendance. Prominent DJ John Peel played one of their songs on BBC Radio in 1982.
(February 2012)
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The first rap song that I remember liking is “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. I first heard it as a video, probably on the USA Network’s Night Flight program and others like it that showcased cutting-edge music videos. The song came out in 1982, and I likely saw it around that time period. (MTV launched on August 1, 1981, but not everyone had it on their cable system right away, leading to the common chant: “I want my MTV!”).
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Also mentioned in “Rapture” by Blondie is Grandmaster Flash. I saw an interview with him once where he talked about the effect that “Rapture” had on his musical vision, which led to the release of “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. I was amazed when I heard him say that.
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The origin of the term “hip hop” is interesting; again from Wikipedia: “Keith ‘Cowboy’ Wiggins, a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five has been credited with coining the term in 1978 while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army by scat singing the words ‘hip/hop/hip/hop’ in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the ‘hip hop’ cadence into his stage performance. . . . The song ‘Rapper’s Delight’, by the Sugarhill Gang, released in 1979, begins with the line, ‘I said a hip, hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, a you don’t stop’.”
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“Beat Street”, the debut single by Lightning Strike has true royalty among its songwriters: Melvin Glover (rapper Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five), Sylvia Robinson (“the mother of hip hop”), and Reggie Griffin. As recorded by Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five, “Beat Street” is the title song of the 1984 hip hop movie Beat Street, featuring a host of rap pioneers.
(September 2016)
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Since I am down to a quarterly schedule rather than a monthly schedule, my annual list is a lot shorter, so I will try listing all of the people that I have discussed in some depth rather than just the Under Appreciated Rock Band and the Story of the Month. They are all punk rock bands of one kind or another this year (2015-2016), and the most recent post includes my overview of the early rap/hip hop scene that an old friend, George Konstantinow challenged me to write – probably so long ago that he might have forgotten.
September 2016 – 1980’s punk/rap band LIGHTNING STRIKE; Story of the Month on Patti Smith; also, Hamilton, School of Rock, MFSB, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Bob Dylan, Run-D.M.C., Aerosmith, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, the Fat Boys, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Kid ’N Play, MC Hammer, Rick James, Vanilla Ice, Blondie / Deborah Harry, Salt-N-Pepa, the Sugarhill Gang, Nile Rodgers / Chic, Ravales.
(Year 7 Review)
