Takin’ the Smooth To The Streets
Check out this clip of hip hop artists sampling WestCoast music from the 1980s to today in a piece we call When Westcoast Met Hip Hop.
80s
West Coast Classics from the 70s & 80s, Part 2
In our presentation, How The West Was Smooth, I created and played a montage of some of my favorite West Coast classics from the late 70s & early 80s. These were all non-Top 40 hits in the US. There are many more that I could have added, so instead I created another montage.
Smooth out your day with these clips:
Westcoast CCM
Since the dawn of Christian rock in the early 70s, CCM (contemporary Christian music) artists have been trying to figure out ways to cross over to the mainstream. TIn the late 70s and early 80s they figured the best way to do it was through the aqueduct of Westcoast smoothness. Outside of Chris Christian’s I Want You, I Need You in 1981, none of them had much success, but they still created some funky grooves while spreading their love from above. Eventually after Amy Grant’s pop breakthrough in 1991, other artists, such as Michael W. Smith and Kathy Troccoli, followed her into the Top 40.
Here’s a montage of Westcoast CCM artists from 1978-1984.
West Coast from Around the World
Westcoast music was becoming so popular in the US in the mid to late 70s and its popularity spread as the music was exported around the globe to many other countries. Naturally musicians from those countries became influence by that sound and wanted to give their take on those smooth vibes.
Here’s a montage of West Coast music from outside of the US recorded in the 70s & 80s:
How The West Was Smooth 