Cut and Paste 1: Superfly Meets Steinski

Super Fly Meets Shaft – John & Ernest
from 7″ on Rainy Wednesday Records (197?).

Lesson 3 (History of Hip Hop Mix) – Double Dee & Steinski
from 12″ on Tommy Boy (1985).

Starting off a couple of posts about cut & paste recordings with a bit of the back history. For a much more in depth look into the history check out this article from Neil McMillan (originally featured in Big Daddy Magazine).

First off is one of Dickie Goodman’s 70s productions in which he creates a fake new broadcast full of questions he asks and answers supplied by funk and soul snippets. I apologize for the audio quality, but I actually found this in a box of records on the street so mixing cliches finders can’t be choosers. Meant more for comedy and satire than moving butts, this record is showcased for historical purposes of early funky cut-ups.

Goodman was cited by Steinski as being a primary influence on his 80s cut-ups with Double Dee, which in turn influenced a legion of DJs who started the turntablist movement. Double Dee & Steinski put together funk, soul, and disco tracks with movie and tv dialogue in their legendary Lesson series. The new twist here is their ability to make a cohesive danceable mix out of all the disjoint pieces. Cut and paste has come along ways since Dickie Goodman and next we’ll see what folks have done after Steinski.