ROCK Sex: "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" - Bill Withers > Diana Ross > Sly Stone > Zapp

ROCK Sex doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Let's do both singing along with "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh".

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We humans are crazy so relationships tend to go up and down with our emotions. Bill Withers captures the silly seesaw of our lives with this lesser-known Funk classic.

BILL WITHERS -"The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" (1974)



I tend to favor DIANA ROSS's funkier, sexier solo songs (e.g., "Love Hangover", "Upside Down"), and here she sways back and forth to Bill's song on the Disco floor.

DIANA ROSS -"The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" (1977)



Sly Stone basically invented the entire '70s Funk sound, and everyone followed in his tread. But he often winked at his peers with nods to their songs. Here's an original of his own that bounced off of Bill's song.

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"The Same Thing That Makes You Laugh" (1979)

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Sly used voice distortion tricks from 1969 on up, and there's another version of this song with a vocoder vocal that paves the way for Zapp (and the autotune singers of now).

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"The Same Thing That Makes You Laugh" (vocoder version) (1979)



Bootsy Collins introduced the vocoder device to Roger while producing this dance floor smash.

ZAPP -"More Bounce To The Ounce" (1980)




© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• FUNK, The True History: 1970-1974, with 3 Music Players!

-SLICE TONES: Sly Stone & His Infinite Influence!, with 5 Music Players


• "Use Me" - Bill Withers > Grace Jones > Jagger/ Kravitz > D'Angelo

• Bill Withers > Me'shell Ndegeocello > Queen Pen


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Sex: "Use Me" - Bill Withers > Grace Jones > Jagger/ Kravitz > D'Angelo

ROCK Sex shows how a great song keeps its kick while taking on the flavors of each new artist.

Here's the Funk classic "Use Me" as an example.

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Bill Withers is one of those people whose songs are so cool they always come back around: "Lean On Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Lovely Day", and "Two Of Us".

But besides perennial ballads, Bill could kick out some lean mean Funk with songs like "Who Is He And What Is He To You?", "The Same Thing That Made Me Laugh", and this stone classic.

BILL WITHERS -"Use Me" (1972)



Fred Wesley was the secret architect propelling The JB's behind James Brown, and the Horny Horns for Parliament/Funkadelic. This guy can say more with his saxophone than a hive of telemarketers.

FRED WESLEY -"Use Me" (1972)



Surprisingly, one of the first versions was by LIZA MINELLI, cruising on the heavy cred of the film CABARET, and she puts it to great use.

LIZA MINELLI -"Use Me" (1973)



Here's Jazz singer Kimiko Kasai finding it user-friendly.

KIMIKO KASAI -"Use Me" (1975)



As is her wont, Grace Jones upends everything over a slinky Reggae groove from Sly & Robbie.

GRACE JONES -"Use Me" (1981)



Mick Jagger did an inspired version of it with Lenny Kravitz, joined by his old friend and everyone's MVP, Billy Preston, on the funky clavinet.

MICK JAGGER And LENNY KRAVITZ -"Use Me" (19893)



Aaron Neville makes a fresh cruise with the groove in this moody video that lets us enjoy New Orleans before it got Bush-whacked. I like how he sings how his brother tried to talk sense into him and then you hear his actual brother Cyril ad-libbing along.

AARON NEVILLE -"Use Me" (1995)



D'ANGELO was another heir apparent to '70s Soul in the 1990s (along with Lenny Kravitz, Terence Trent D'Arby, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Dionne Farris). Here he is on a great musicians jam show with an alarmingly stellar backup band.

D'ANGELO + Friends -"Use Me" (live, 1998)



Fiona Apple has said she only listens to Classical and The Beatles, but clearly she's heard more than enough to shake her thang here.

FIONA APPLE -"Use Me" (live, 200?)



Ida Sand finds some new angles for Jazz, Blues, and Soul in hers.

IDA SAND -"Use Me" (2007)



From left field, Pete Yorn and the band Kinky (Mexico) make fine usage of Pyschedelia and Electronica.

PETE YORN And KINKY -"Use Me" (2008)




"Yeah, I want to spread the news
That if it feels this good getting used
You can keep on using me till you use me up!"


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• FUNK, The True History: 1970-1974, with 3 Music Players!


• Bill Withers > Me'shell Ndegeocello > Queen Pen

• "Exile On GRRL Street", Or How THE STONES Can Tribute Riot Grrrls Tributing Them!

• LADIES FIRST: "Demolition Man" - Grace Jones > The Police > Sting

• "Nightclubbing" - Iggy Pop > Human League > Grace Jones > Nine Inch Nails > Oasis


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Sex: Bill Withers > Me'shell Ndegeocello > Queen Pen

ROCK Sex thinks that love is for everybody.

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Me'Shell Ndegeocello is a monster bassist, underrated singer, and passionate activist. She injected some serious organic Funk into the '90s with her gutsy debut hit:

ME'SHELL NDEGEOCELLO -"If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night) (1994)



Her sound and politics hearkens back to the original early '70s Funk. Here's one of her inspirations, the evergreen BILL WITHERS:

BILL WITHERS -"Who Is He and What Is He To You?" (1972)



Me'shell paid tribute to this by covering it with back-up from Billy Preston and Wendy And Lisa:

ME'SHELL NDEGEOCELLO -"Who Is He and What Is He To You?" (1996)



Me'shell's take on that song clearly opened up the possibilities of the sexual playing field. Soon after, the rapper Queen Pen extended that in this clever rethink of "If That Was Your Boyfriend", with able assist from Me'shell herself, challenging phobic attitudes about love and lust:

QUEEN PEN, with ME'SHELL NDEGEOCELLO -"GIRLFRIEND" (1997)



The taunting chorus is based on the nyah-nyah singsong of children. That same rhythm was used by Sly And The Family Stone in "Everyday People":

"...and so on and so on and scooby-dooby-doo-bee!"


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• FUNK, The True History: 1970-1974, with 3 Music Players!

• SLICE TONES: Sly Stone & His Infinite Influence!, with 5 Music Players

• "Use Me" - Bill Withers > Grace Jones > Jagger/ Kravitz > D'Angelo


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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