| I heard "Lookout Weekend" by Debbie Deb on the weird oldies station here, right after "Tallahassee Lassie" by Freddy Cannon and just before "Rock and Roll Gangster" by Aalon Butler. It is an oldies station that has totally collapsed chronological and regional boundaries.
Anyways, I remember Debbie Deb from a time when dance music was a little more rough hewn and underground-- but not because it wanted to be. Research shows that Debbie Deb was not only just the singer on that tune but in fact she was an auteur, a pioneer from Brooklyn to Miami of freestyle.
However, she was not a skinny person so the record company used a fake DD to promote the records.
Fake DD:
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Real DD:
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This exacerbated her low self-esteem and so...
She made little, if any, money from her hit singles, and was so hurt by the experience that she stopped singing for years.
I take a different perspective on this, I'd be happy to have someone else have to do stuff in my place to promote things--I'd like five well-designed representatives. I remember when Royal Trux were getting ready to promote their 6th LP and I told the band that only the female singer would be appearing in any videos and promo pix for this record. To my surprise they were pissed off. I could only shake my head. Y'know some people are better at some things than others but if you work together, pool your talents, and share the rewards it works out for everyone. But no...the twist was in the brain, as usual. This led to destruction. I still made good money. Dopes.
Now...Debbie Deb is BACK, by the way. There's been a revival of interest in the genesis of freestyle: Pretty Tony, Lisa Lisa, Nocera etc. She's got new records and is performing live as herself. Nice to see a genius get her due. |
