Machine (band)

This article is about the American funk group. For the Japanese band, see Penicillin (band). For other uses, see Machine (disambiguation).
Machine
Origin New York City, New York, United States
Genres Funk, pop, soul, disco
Years active 1977–1981, 2009–present
Labels RCA Victor, RCA
Associated acts Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
Past members August Darnell
Clare Bathé
Jay Stovall
Kevin Nance
Lonnie Ferguson
Melvin Lee

Machine was an American funk disco group, formed by Jay Stovall in 1977. The band started in New York City with the intent to create the disco equivalent of R&B message songs.[1]

The band released its self-titled debut album in 1979, which produced its most famous single "There But for the Grace of God Go I". The song describes two Latino parents named Carlos and Carmen Vidal who move out of the Bronx to protect their baby daughter.[2] In their new surroundings, their daughter is cut off from her own heritage and becomes self-destructive from the Vidals' cosseting. When the daughter grows up, her parents find she is the type of person from whom all their peers are trying to protect their own children.[3] It ends with the mother's conclusion that "Too much love is worse than none at all."[4] "There But for the Grace of God Go I" reached number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent ten weeks on the chart.[5] Slant Magazine later named it the sixth greatest dance song,[2] and Pitchfork Media included it in its collection of The Pitchfork 500.[4] The song ended up being censored twice: the original lyrics[6] in the 3rd verse "Popping Pills and Smoking Weed" were changed to "Gaining Weight and Losing Sleep"[7] and later the first verse lyrics "Let's Find a Place they say, Somewhere Far Away, with No Blacks, No Jews and No Gays" was changed to "Let's Find a Place they say, Somewhere Far Away, where only upper class people stay".[8]

Machine released its second and final album Moving On in 1980 with two accompanying singles, but the album suffered from poor sales. The group disbanded the following year, and August Darnell went on to form Kid Creole and the Coconuts, who released a cover of "There But for the Grace of God Go I" in 1980.[1] In 2009, three of the band's original members, Jay Stovall, Kevin Nance, and Clare Bathé, reformed the act for a tour.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

  1. 1 2 Henderson, Alex. "Machine | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Henderson, Eric (January 30, 2006). "100 Greatest Dance Songs". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ Henderson, Eric (April 14, 2008). "Kid Creole Going Places: The August Darnell Years 1974 - 1983 | Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Plagenhoef, Scott; Schreiber, Ryan, eds. (November 2008). The Pitchfork 500. Simon & Schuster. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-4165-6202-3.
  5. ↑ "Machine - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  6. ↑ - There but For The Grace of God go I Lyrics http://www.songlyrics.com/machine/there-but-for-the-grace-of-god-go-i-lyrics/title=MACHINE - There but For The Grace of God go I Lyrics Check |url= value (help). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ - There but For The Grace of God go I Lyrics http://artists.letssingit.com/machine-lyrics-there-but-for-the-grace-of-god-go-i-1p8rr5w/title=MACHINE - There but For The Grace of God go I Lyrics Check |url= value (help). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ - There but For The Grace of God go I http://www.discomusic.com/records-more/566_0_2_0_C//title=MACHINE - There but For The Grace of God go I Check |url= value (help). Missing or empty |title= (help)
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