Week 8: Bobby Orlando

This week I've got a two-parter dealing with one guy: the enigmatic and super-influential disco producer Bobby Orlando (aka Bobby'O). Whether you've heard of him or not, you've definitely heard his influence—he basically invented a lot of the dance music clichés of the 1980s and '90s, and while you may not be as fond of said clichés as I am, you still gotta give dude credit for being so dang influential.

That having been said, Bobby'O is an incredibly strange dude—a complete contradiction on a lot of levels. He's a hyper-macho, incredibly cocky, rampantly homophobic ex-boxer who made gay disco. He once backed out of a lease because he found out the previous tenant was gay, yet he produced legendary drag queen Divine, and discovered the Pet Shop Boys. Most of his songs are brazen odes to sex and partying, and yet he's a fundamentalist Christian who penned a (still unpublished) book on creationism called Darwin Destroyed. He created some of the most original dance music of the 1980s, but he seemingly was just as happy to shamelessly plagiarize current dance hits, releasing a slew of blatant soundalikes and proudly referring to himself as "the McDonald's of the dance record industry". He was incredibly prolific, releasing dozens of records each month on the numerous labels he ran, and citing the Bible as his reason: "I'm being fruitful, I'm multiplying," he told The Face in 1987. "I put out more records than anybody in the world; there's nobody that puts out more records than me. If a producer has the ability to put out that many records and he doesn't then he is disobeying God's command." DUDE WAS WEIRD.

So yeah, I felt like to really get a feel for this guy required two mixes. Part 1 is the case for Bobby'O as musical genius: 23 of my fave Bobby Orlando tunes. They may not be lyrical masterpieces, but they are all intensely catchy dance tunes couched in some groundbreaking production techniques, and I fucking adore them.

Part 2 showcases the embarrassing shameless hack side of Bobby'O. It comprises 7 pairs of songs: one big club hit of the 1980s followed by Orlando's transparent theft of said song. This one isn't beatmixed so much as just placed side by side, to keep clear the distinction between the original song and Bobby's rip-off. A few of his ripoffs are great, but most aren't, and even the good ones are still pretty damning from a copyright perspective.

Oh, and one last thing. Check out Bobby's Friendster profile (the real deal). Hilarity.

Chrissy's Year of Mixtapes Week 8, Part 1: Bobby Orlando, Musical Genius

1. The Flirts; Calling All Boys (Unidisc)
2. The Flirts; Helpless (Telefon)
3. Girly; Trouble (Riovista)
4. Roni Griffith; Spies (Vanguard)
5. Pet Shop Boys; One More Chance (Remix) (Bobcat)
6. Bobby'O; Still Hott 4 U ("O" Records)
7. Roni Griffith; (The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up (Vanguard)
8. Oh Romeo; One More Shot (Memo)
9. Girly; Working Girl (One Way Love Affair) ("O" Records)
10. Malibu; Lust Or Love (Eurobeat)
11. Boyd Brothers; Keep It Coming (Bobcat)
12. Charlene Davis; Aggression (Memo)
13. Lilly & The Pink; Frustration (Memo)
14. The Flirts; Boy Crazy ("O" Records)
15. WOW; Magic Man (Young Man Young Man) (Memo)
16. Oh Romeo; Try It (I'm In Love With A Married Man) (Bobcat)
17. Malibu; Look At That Boy (Bobcat)
18. Oh Romeo; Once Is Not Enough (Oh My! Records)
19. WOW; Bring On The Men (Memo)
20. Claudja Barry; Born To Love (Personal)
21. The Flirts; Dancing Madly Backwards (Remix) (Telefon)
22. Oh Romeo; These Memories (Bobcat)
23. Malibu; Goin' Cruisin' (Bobcat)

Chrissy's Year of Mixtapes Week 8, Part 2: Bobby Orlando, Rip-Off Artist

1. The B-52s; Rock Lobster (Sire)
   
2. Barbie & The Kens; Just A Gigolo (Vanguard)
   
3. Lime; Unexpected Lovers (Matra)
   
4. Bobby 'O' & Claudja Barry; Whisper To A Scream (Meno Vision)
   
5. New Order; Blue Monday (Factory)
   
6. Divine; Love Reaction (Bobcat)
   
7. Dead Or Alive; You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) (Epic)
   
8. Girly; Saving Myself ("O" Records)
   
9. Stacey Q; 2 Of Hearts (Atlantic)
   
10. Hotline; Ready Or Not ("O" Records)
11. Blondie; Call Me (Chrysalis)
    
12. Roni Griffith; Hot Lover (Vanguard)
    
13. Patrick Cowley; Menergy (Megatone)
    
14. Divine; Shoot Your Shot ("O" Records)

NEXT WEEK: Ambient Jungle.