The Anti-Disco forces were running rampant, thus anything marketed as Disco (or, just uptempo "Black Music") was feeling the concussive effects of the stupidity bomb dropped in full proud view on "Disco Demolition Night" July 12, 1979 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. A short 4-hour drive brings us to Michigan, home of a young 10-member Detroit Band on Infinity Records/MCA (out of business by the end of that year), with an album, In The Beginning, produced by soul music legend Michael Stokes.
The first single from band members Charles Green, Charles Woods, Duane Mitchell, Keith Fondren, Lynn Smith, Mark Mitchell, Marvin Jones, Opelton Parker, Robert Johnson, and Robert William Carter was released on 3/11/79 and by 9/15/79 reached its peak position of #6 on the Billboard R&B Chart, and #7 on the Jet Magazine Soul Brothers Top 20 chart.
The Anti-Disco forces were running rampant, thus anything marketed as Disco (or, just uptempo "Black Music") was feeling the concussive effects of the stupidity bomb dropped in full proud view on "Disco Demolition Night" July 12, 1979 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. A short 4-hour drive brings us to Michigan, home of a young 10-member Detroit Band on Infinity Records/MCA (out of business by the end of that year), with an album, In The Beginning, produced by soul music legend Michael Stokes.
The first single from band members Charles Green, Charles Woods, Duane Mitchell, Keith Fondren, Lynn Smith, Mark Mitchell, Marvin Jones, Opelton Parker, Robert Johnson, and Robert William Carter was released on 3/11/79 and by 9/15/79 reached its peak position of #6 on the Billboard R&B Chart, and #7 on the Jet Magazine Soul Brothers Top 20 chart.
"I Just Can't Control Myself" was co-written by band members Lynn Marie, Robert Carter, and producer Michael Stokes. It is a sinewy instant classic of a stepper. If you ever heard it, you'll be transported back, and if you never did, you'll need a copy. Absent on digital streaming, there is a rare CD listed on Discogs from "undetermined sources." We remain thankful for fellow music enthusiasts who have posted it on YouTube. In the YT comments below the video, band member Rob Carter offered a short history and more context. SoulTracks writer Howard Dukes provides even more context in this 2013 review of Lynn Marie-Smith's solo album
By Donald Cleveland
SoulTracks Lost Gem
Nature’s Divine – “I Just Can’t Control Myself”