Burning The Ground Exclusive 1983
“White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)” is a song by Melle Mel, released as a 12″ in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Melle Mel’s signature tracks. The bassline is taken from a performance of the Sugar Hill house band (featuring bassist Doug Wimbish) covering “Cavern”, a single by New York City band Liquid Liquid.
When originally released on Sugar Hill Records, the record was credited to Grandmaster & Melle Mel (some international issues carried the credit Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel). By this time, Grandmaster Flash had already stopped touring with Mel and was suing Sugar Hill Records for back royalties. The animosity between the two artists continued well into the future.
“White Lines” peaked at No. 47 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart in 1983. The song fared better in the United Kingdom, reaching number 7 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1984, spending 17 consecutive weeks in the top 40. It was the 13th best-selling single of 1984 in the UK, selling more than several number one hits that year.
The song was co-written by Melle Mel and Sylvia Robinson. Originally, it was intended to be an ironic celebration of a cocaine-fueled party lifestyle, but it was abridged with the “don’t do it” message as a concession to commercial considerations.
The lines “A businessman is caught with 24 kilos / He’s out on bail and out of jail and that’s the way it goes” refers to car manufacturer John DeLorean, who in 1982 became entrapped in a scheme to save his company from bankruptcy using drug money. Some of the lyrics in “White Lines” (“something like a phenomenon”) echoed lyrics from the song “Cavern” by Liquid Liquid (“slip in and out of phenomenon”), in addition to the note-by-note appropriation of the bass line from “Cavern” with a rapping track overlaid. Sugar Hill did not get proper clearance to use “Cavern,” resulting in years of lawsuits, ultimately in Liquid Liquid’s favor. As a result of the $600,000 judgment against Sugar Hill, the label declared bankruptcy to circumvent paying the judgment.
**The two tracks on the b-side are listed as seperate tracks on the record label. However they are one continuos track. To keep the integrity of the original vinyl I did not seperate them.
SIDE A:
White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) 7:36
White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) (Bonus) 2:19
SIDE B:
White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) (Bonus Break)/
White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) (Short Version) 6:57
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | White Lines (Dn’t Do It) | U.S. Billboard Hot Black singles | #47 |
| 1983 | White Lines (Dn’t Do It) | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #9 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sugar Hill Records – SH 465
Format:
Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Hip Hop
Style: Hip Hop
CREDITS:
Arranged By –Reggie Griffin
Engineer, Mixed By –E.T. Thorngren*
Engineer, Mixed By, Producer, Written-By – Sylvia Robinson (Sylvia Inc.)*
Mastered By – Pa*
Producer –Joey Robinson, Jr., Melle Mel
Written-By – Melvin Glover
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24Bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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one of the all time great tracks, can’t wait to hear your 24bit rip!
Thank you very much.
Do you have the maxi of the Livin’ in the Fast Lane theme? If so, could you upload it?
Thank you again.
Sorry, I forgot to say that song is from the Sugarhill Gang. https://www.discogs.com/en/master/124387-Sugar-Hill-Gang-Livin-In-The-Fast-Lane
Wow!! Amazing timing. I just went on a search for this song’s vinyl rip for the 10th time, and I found this gem of a site. Thank you so much
OK, that’s 2 days in a row w Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, and PE. You’re really taking me back (in a good way).
Thank you so much PaulT, for digging these gems up for recirculation.
In the U.K. we have pub quizzes, where we have kinds of random rounds, there is always a music round, either guess the lyrics or they play a clip & you have to name the band. I remember getting more than a little angry with the ‘Quizmaster’ when he marked me down for not putting Flash in the group’s name when this song came up as a clip. I believe I threatened to go & get my copy from home & ram it down his throat (or maybe the other end, lol) And don’t get me started on the Careless… Read more »
in a nutshell, technically BOTH of you are correct: “White Lines” was originally credited to Grandmaster FLASH & Melle Mel. Flash never appeared on the group’s studio recordings, yet sued Sylvia & Joe Robinson’s Sugar Hill label for $5M in “unpaid royalties”. So they showed him by dropping his name from the credit in subsequent pressings. Then Liquid Liquid sued them for around a half-million dollars over the uncleared sample of “Cavern”, which ultimately forced Sugar Hill to declare bankruptcy. This is just one of many longer, involved dramatic stories…
Thanks so much Paul!
You’re welcome 🙂
Thank You Paul, fantastic track by Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel, I also love “The Message”. I also seen Duran Duran perform their version with Grandmaster Flash many times and it rocked with both Andy and Warren. Duran Duran – White Lines (70’s Club Mix) got played by me many times. I Loved the early Hip hop music, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, NWA, Beastie Boys and Run DMC being my favourites from that era. Melle Mel & Duran Duran also performed “The Message” live in 1994, around the time of writing/recording the “Thank You” album.
so very cool, John I would have loved to see the “Thank You” tour love that album. I love the early Hip Hop era myself 🙂
I saw that! They played a festival in Illinois I think! Wish I had that version of The Message!
Thanks so much, Paul! A classic, classic, classic song! It had very heavy rotation in CT and generally New England. If any of you are interrelated, there is a FANTASTIC. re-edit of this song by dj Freddie g who does Digital Revisions for thousands of songs. I cannot find it right now on my cell phone but it is avail w for download. The sound quality is also amazing as he cleaned up the notoriously poor vinyl quality. Thanks again Paul!
You’re welcome, Fred 🙂
Stoked to see this pop up!! Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, Grant 🙂
You really light up our lives with these classics, Paul!!! I’m originally from New Jersey and always listened to 92 WKTU, the dance station out of New York. They played “Cavern” by Liquid Liquid a lot, so when “Whie Lines” came out, I thought it was brilliant to use the bassline from “Cavern” and a little of the lyrics changed too, made me admire this song all the more. I bought the 12-inch and turned so many of my friends at college on to the song. It rocked the Frat parties and the dorm rooms. The song kicks butt and… Read more »
Thank you so much, Jeff for sharing your back story with the song. Even though this record was mint and still factory sealed it did have its issues luckily it did not cause me too much pain. I worked on this off and on over several days, to tell the truth I am glad to be finished with it lol 🙂
Wow! I didn’t know all the backstory on this classic track! Thanks for the info! One of my fondest live concert memories is when Duran Duran, seemingly out of nowhere, launched into a rocking version of this song on their Extraordinary World Tour! We were dancing and going ‘what is this?!?!’ before finding out later what they had just done! This was like 2 years before the official single release by DD featuring Mel. Ah, back before the internet gave away all surprises!!!
You’re welcome. ING. That is a very cool DD story thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for adding this 12″. I hope you don’t try adding the 30 Duran Duran remixes of White Lines. 🙂
You’re welcome. that would be quite the job adding all the DD mixes 🙂
Is that an exaggeration? I think I only have 8! LOL
Pretty sure I have the USA 12″ Promo which has eight mixes. Going to try and post it at some point but that record will take some time 🙂
Hard to forget this one! I didn’t know about the lawsuits, too bad. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Raymond 🙂
Thanks, Paul, for this fun flashback! This song came out during my freshman year of college at Michigan State University and was played everywhere and all the time by DJs or anyone who had a boombox at a house party.
Even though I lived in Michigan (or maybe because I lived in Michigan), I was previously unaware of the lyrics’ connection to John Delorean and his struggling motor company. Thanks for sharing that bit of trivia. It makes a lot of sense.
You’re welcome, David 🙂
If there’s a more classic dance track in the top 10 of that era, I’m not sure what it is! This was in heavy rotation in California at the time I landed there. I had just moved from DJing on the East Coast where this wasn’t as well known. Once in CA, I had to pick this one up quickly or incur the ire of all the Left Coast folks who demanded this track. I also love songs with a special jig to them – whether it’s Rock Lobster, Twist and Shout or this one where everyone on the floor… Read more »
You’re welcome, dugn. I really enjoy it when you guys share the memories you have with certain records that I post. 🙂