Jazzie's Groove

Album: Club Classics Vol. One (1989)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Jazzie" is Jazzie B (born Beresford Romeo), the leader of Soul II Soul. In this song, he's essentially answering the standard interview questions, starting with "What is Soul II Soul?" The answer: "We're a sound system. An amalgamation of good dance music."

    To clarify, "sound system" is a British term for a team of mobile DJs that provide the music at various functions. Soul II Soul expanded to make their own recordings, combining different flavors of dance music into distinctive grooves.
  • Jazzie B delivers the vocals in spoken word (he's not a singer). The music is a pastiche of samples, with the main horn riff coming from the 1973 song "Soul Travelin' Pt. I" by Gary Byrd.
  • This song was released as a single in America, where Soul II Soul's previous singles, "Keep on Movin'" and "Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)," both topped the R&B and Dance charts. "Jazzie's Groove" rose to #6 R&B and #3 Dance.
  • Jazzie B wrote and produced this song with Nellee Hooper, his main collaborator on Soul II Soul's debut album, the boldly titled Club Classics Vol. One.
  • This is one of Jazzie B's favorite songs to perform live. Soul II Soul played it at the 1990 Soul Train Awards, where the group won three trophies.
  • The song closes with Jazzie B answering the cliché final interview question: "What's the future of Soul II Soul." The answer serves as his mission statement:

    A happy face
    A thumping bass
    For a loving race

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.