The worse the fashion, the better the music.
March Madness rolls on… Monday Muzak style here at The Nest. We’re once again pre-
empting the Dusty Vinyl Archive to bring you another melodious tune compliments of Mecca Radio! DJ Scratchy’s donning the vest to bring you the fourth installment of our brief Mecca Muzak Monday revival!
This week’s MMM tune is a bit of an outlier from the norm for a couple reasons. First, it wasn’t recorded in the new millennium, but rather in the distant, pre-ES year of 1973! It also isn’t an actual earworm that can be frequently heard in the rotation normally heard in the store, but was a one-off song featured in the weekly associate request show a couple months ago. And once I looked the song up at home to hear it again, I realized it was too good not to try to work into a Monday post!
I’m down for some 70’s shit, dude!
Donny Hathaway is a soul singer from my neck of the woods who is best remembered for a pair of duets he did with Roberta Flack in the 70’s… namely “Where Is The Love,” (US #5, 1972) and “The Closer I Get To You” (#2, 1978). But he also recorded a lot of his own music, and one song that was buried on his 1973 album Extension of a Man found its way to my ears solely because of that chance playing earlier this year… and I am so glad! Here’s Hathaway’s aptly named “Flying Easy”…
The 70’s had so many cool sounds that the music was often rife with, and not all of them belonged to disco. This is a perfect song to have playing in the background when you just want to relax and mellow out…
You don’t say…
Unfortunately for Hathaway, a sudden bout with mental illness cut his career short in 1979, as paranoid delusions ultimately led to his jumping to his death from a 15th story balcony. But thanks to music like this that he left behind, we can all recall the times when he was flying easy…
My poor taste sensors are tingling, Mr. Squirrel!
I’ll have one more Mecca Muzak song next Monday! And it’s a doozy…..
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
ha! the good stuff was my first thought too :o)))
This would be the perfect music for it. Then again, once you’re stoned, any music might sound perfect.
Don’t remember hearing that one before – he had a great voice and I DO remember the duets with Roberta Flack – they were a GREAT “pairing” for those songs. Thanks for the pleasant ear worm!
Pam
I really like “Where Is The Love,” and was unaware of who did that with her before this post’s research. It’s great music that couldn’t have been done any time BUT the 70’s…
I remember those duets, part of the background of life in those days. It sounds as if the man could have used some ‘good stuff’ to mellow out and perhaps he’d have survived. I doubt he’d have enjoyed what has come about though, so maybe his way was best. It was for him apparently. Great tunes as usual E.S.!
I’m sure he had plenty of good stuff in his life, and perhaps a bit too much that it ate away at the grey matter.
Gotta love the organ on that track. Donny-boy had a beautifully velvety voice that complimented the Roberta Flack duets.
I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of Donny before this song since he’s from my area. The music is definitely a throwback to the 70’s… I can’t imagine it being in a song from any other decade.
Sounds like it should be the theme tune to a cheesy 70s TV programme about the lives and loves of an airline cabin crew…
When I first heard this playing, I thought it was some old obscure TV theme song! Flying Easy with The Mile High Club, coming to Channel 69 this Fall!