Growing up in Compton in a musical extended family, it was the skate style of Pharrell and the electronica he heard at university that encouraged this understated pioneer to put his ‘hood energy’ into house
Manfred Mann s Earth Band-
Blinded By the Light: A lengthy classic rock transformation of a streetwise rock Bruce Springsteen song, with lots of great musical transitions, an instrumental intro possibly inspired by the instrumental intro of The Who s
Baba O Riley, and a sense of humour â the little bit of
Chopsticks played during one musical transition.
Chuck Mangione-
The Manhattans-
Kiss and Say Goodbye: A song I loved in the day (1976), with its Barry White-like smouldering spoken intro and its soaring musical vocals. For those so inclined, there s an X-rated (more like PG-13) version with an alternate, rather nasty intro that can be heard on YouTube.