Edwin Birdsong

Edwin L. Birdsong (August 22, 1941 – January 21, 2019)[1][2] was an American keyboard/organ player, known in the 1970s and 1980s for his experimental funk/disco music. Birdsong did not achieve much chart success, but developed a strong fan base, and has also been sampled by other artists many times, most famously by Daft Punk who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", and Gang Starr who sampled his single "Rapper Dapper Snapper" for their song "Skills".

Edwin Birdsong
Born(1941-08-22)August 22, 1941
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedJanuary 21, 2019(2019-01-21) (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, record producer, keyboard player
Years active1975–2019
Labels
Associated acts

Biography

Birdsong was the son of a minister and grew up in a strict fundamentalist environment.[3] He joined the Los Angeles Community Choir for a period before serving in the army during the Vietnam War era. While in the army, he was stationed in Germany.[4] He went on to play in clubs in Germany, and then moved to New York City to pursue his music career. There he headed a jazz and blues trio but experienced little success. While in New York he attended the Manhattan School of Music as well as Juilliard as a composition major.

In 1971 he signed a record deal with Polydor. Under Polydor, he issued his first two full-length albums, What It Is and Supernatural. Birdsong then issued one album for Bamboo, Dance of Survival, in 1975, and recorded Edwin Birdsong for Philadelphia International in 1979, which included the single "Phiss-Phizz." Birdsong also worked extensively with Roy Ayers, co-producing three of his albums and writing "Running Away" and "Freaky Deaky" with him.

Birdsong slowly stopped making his own music but carried on playing session work for many well known artists including Stevie Wonder.

Birdsong served as a mentor early in the career of Hip-Hop Artist/Producer Funkghost.

Discography

Albums
  • What It Is (1972, Polydor)
  • Supernatural (1973, Polydor)
  • Dance of Survival (1975, Bamboo)
  • Edwin Birdsong (1979, Philadelphia International)
  • Funtaztik (1981, Uni Records, Salsoul)

Singles
  • Rapper Dapper Snapper (1981, Salsoul) No. 65 U.S. Billboard, Hot Soul Singles
  • She's Wrapped Too Tight (She's A Button Buster) (1982, Salsoul) No. 55 U.S. Billboard, Hot Soul Singles[5]

References
  1. U.S. Public Records Index, Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
  2. Savage, Mark (January 23, 2019). "Funk musician sampled by Daft Punk dies". BBC News. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  3. "Answers – The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com.
  4. Thomas, Andy. "Cosmic Reverb: Edwin Birdsong", WaxPoetics, February 5, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 59.
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