Funk 45: Universal Togetherness Band ‘Saturday Night’
We are kicking off a brand new weekly ‘Funk 45’ series here at BeatCaffeine. Over the course of each month, we will highlight a number of essential forty-five. In this series, we will cover everything from rare selections to essential reissues, from soul jams and heavy funk classics, to rare tropical gems from all corners of the globe. The only real criteria is that it’s funky!
Make sure to follow BeatCaffeine’s Funk 45 Playlist. We will add the songs featured in this series to that playlist.
To kick things off, we start with Numero Group’s 2014 seven-inch release of Saturday Night by the Universal Togetherness Band. Even though the two tracks featured on this single were recorded in the late seventies-early eighties, it took more than three decades for the music to finally be released.
The story goes like this …
Numero Group first became interested in the soulful funk band after they saw some footage of the group performing on an episode of The Chicago Party, which was a local Chicago-based “SNL-like” TV show that was broadcasted back in the early-mid eighties. After being captivated by UTB’s performance, the label sought out the band’s leader Andre Gibson with the hopes of tracking down any possible recordings or albums that the group might of put out.
After they got in contact with Mr. Gibson, the label quickly learned that the band never officially released any of their music. Gibson and his bandmates did record numerous tracks during the spring of 1979 at Columbia University through the school’s audio production program. Even though Mercury Records showed some interest in the the recorded material, the band was never signed and the music was eventually shelved. Luckily Gibson held onto that material for over 30 years, and agreed to work with the Numero Group on finally getting it released. With those original tapes now in-hand, Numero Group has put out two 45rpm singles and one full-length album featuring a collection of the group’s best recorded material.
One of those 45rpm singles that came out of that collection of music was Saturday Night. The record features two ready-for-the-dancefloor tracks, “Saturday Night” and “More Than Enough”. Both songs blend soulful vocals with slapping bass-lines, jazz-funk instrumentation, and driving disco rhythms that have an overall early boogie feel to them. The music seems to fall somewhere in-between Earth, Wind & Fire and ESG.
Overall, this is a great 45rpm single that helps celebrate one the best Chicago-based funk outfits of it’s time. An absolute must-own for forty-five collectors!
Universal Togetherness Band
Saturday Night / More Than Enough
(Numero Group)
