Shuffle Sundays is a weekly feature in which we feature a cover chosen at random by my iTunes shuffle. The songs will usually be good, occasionally be bad, always be interesting. All downloads will only be available for one week, so get them while you can. After you listen, discuss this week’s tune in the comments.
If you don’t remember the Gap Band, consider yourselves lucky. If the Jonas Brothers covered a Sly and the Family Stone song, the sound wouldn’t be far off.
‘80s funk at its most muzak, the Gap Band comprised brothers Charlie, Robbie and Robert Wilson ruthlessly stripping all the soul from the gospel songs they had learned growing up Pentecostal, churning out the most sexually flaccid come-ons this side of Duran Duran. They had huge hits with such classy songs as “Humpin’,” “Party Train,” and “Oops Upside Your Head.”
One slightly lesser hit was “Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me),” a single off the cleverly-titled The Gap Band III. It inexplicably hit number one on the R&B charts when it has neither rhythm nor blues. See if you can make it through three minutes of the porn-star cowboy outfits of the following performance video.
Overthrill’s cover of “Burn Rubber on Me” earns instant points by ditching the vocals completely. Recorded for Spanish music website BuffetLibre’s “Rewind” covers project, the Overthrill DJs describe the song thus:
“We simply love this song, we love the video and we love The Gap Band. Although we probably didn’t hear “Burn Rubber On Me” in the radio in 1980 at least not consciously that is.”
While it’s unclear how sincere they are, they certainly do make a catchy dance track out of the tune. I even had to double-check to make sure it wasn’t just a remix. But a cover it is, so let’s get that party train rolling!
Overthrill – Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) (The Gap Band) [Buy]
What do you think? Discuss this song in the comments section below.
