Tag: Ralph MacDonald

Kurtis Blow – Basketball (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

For Kobe Bryant 1978-2020 Rest In Peace.

“Basketball” is a song that was written by William Waring, Robert Ford, Kurtis Blow, J. B. Moore, Jimmy Bralower, and Full Force and recorded by American rapper, singer, songwriter, Kurtis Blow released in 1984 from his album Ego Trip.

In the mid-’80s, the NBA contacted Kurtis and had him do some shows after games. These games would often sell out as fans came to see the concert after the game. This was a great experience for Kurtis, and he got to meet players like George Gervin (The Iceman), Dr. J and Dominique Wilkins.

“Basketball” peaked at #29 on the Billboard Black Singles chart and #70 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The b-side is a song by Percussionist, songwriter, producer, engineer, Ralph MacDonald. He has released eight solo albums from 1976 to 1998. He co-wrote Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway’s “Where is the Love” and Bill Withers’ “Just The Two Of Us”
He has played as a session percussionist in many artists’ recordings -George Benson, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, Art Garfunkel, Billy Joel, Quincy Jones, Carole King, Miriam Makeba, David Sanborn, Paul Simon, Steely Dan etc.

“It’s The Game” was taken from his album “Universal Rhythm”.

SIDE A:
Basketball 6:23
Performed By – Kurtis Blow
Producer – J.B. Moore, Robert Ford Jr.

SIDE B:
It’s The Game 4:37
Performed By – Ralph MacDonald
Producer – Ralph MacDonald, William Eaton

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1984 Basketball U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #71
1984 Basketball U.S. Billboard Hot Black singles #29

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Labe Polydor ‎– 881 529-1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Hip Hop, Funk / Soul
Style: Disco, Hip Hop, Synth-pop

NOTES:
Side A from the album ‘Ego Trip’
Side B from the album ‘Universal Rhythm’

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
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 USED:
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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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