Tailgate (song)
| "Tailgate" | |
|---|---|
| Single by 21st Creation | |
| from the album Break Thru | |
| A-side | "Tailgate" |
| B-side | "Mr. Disco Radio" |
| Released | 1977 |
| Length | 2:46 |
| Composer(s) | A. Philips-M. Davis-T. Jackson |
| Producer(s) | Mark Davis |
"Tailgate" aka "Tail Gate" was a 1977 single for American R&B group 21st Creation. It was a hit for them that year, charting on the Cash Box Top 100 R&B chart and the Billboard National Disco Action Top 40 chart.
Background
[edit]The song was written by Artis Phillips, Mark Davis and McKinley Jackson. It was issued in the US on Gordy 7154.[1] It was released in the UK on Motown TMG 1075 (E).[2]
The back-to-back release of the song with "Born Again" by Eddie Kendricks was released on Motown M-00006D1.[3]
Reception
[edit]According to the 4 June issue of RPM Weekly, "Tailgate" was one of the upcoming 7 and 12-inch singles that were to be released that week. Besides 21st Creation's single, Vitamin U by Smokey Robinson was another single that Motown Records were enthusiastic about. Discos in Canada had been importing the 12" version of the song and there was a strong reaction.[4]
It was mentioned in the 11 June issue of Record World that John Luongo had made a prediction that "Tailgate" would do well in clubs. A survey of clubs was made by Record World. They had an excellent response from most of them. The record had also been issued as a 5:45 version and Motown had issued it back-to-back with a remix of "Born Again" by Eddie Kendricks.[5]
Airplay
[edit]It was noted in the 14 May issue of Cash Box that "Tailgate" had been added to the playlist of WESL in St. Louis.[6]
According to the 28 May issue of Cash Box, "Tailgate" had been added to the playlists of WJPC in Chicago and WLBS in New York.[7]
Club play
[edit]As shown in the 28 May issue of Record World, "Tailgate" was on the Discotheque Hit Parade, with action at the Fantasia in New York.[8] The following week it was seeing action at the Playground in New York and at the Experiment, also in New York.[9]
Charts
[edit]The single debuted at 100 on the Cash Box Top 100 R&B chart for the week of 4 June 1977.[10] It reached the peak position of no. 95 on the week of 25 June and held the position for another week.[11][12][13]
For the week of 25 May, "Tailgate" debuted at no. 39 on the Billboard National Disco Action Top 40 chart.[14] The following week it moved up to no. 37 before disappearing on the week of 11 June.[15][16]
For the week of 25 June, "Tailgate" made its re-entry at no. 32 on the Billboard National Disco Action Top 40 chart.[17][18] The following week it had moved up one notch to no. 31.[19] It was also at no. 11 in the Los Angeles / San Diego, and no. 10 on the Pittsburgh sections of the Billboard's Disco Action chart.[20]
References
[edit]- ^ MusicVF.com - 05/1977 Tailgate by 21st Creation from Break Thru
- ^ Music Week, June 4, 1977 - Page 44 T, TAILGATE. Mr Disco Radio, 213ST CREATION. Motown TMG 1075 (E)
- ^ Billboard's 1978 International Disco Sourcebook - Page 7 HitDisco! Long-playing disco singles from Motown, The #1 Disco Label, "Tailgate" 21st Creation, "Born Again" Eddie Kendricks, M-00006D1
- ^ RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No. 10 June 4, 1977 - Page 10 Motown releases seven, twelve inch singles
- ^ Record World, June 11, 1977 - Page 83 Disco File (Continued from page 76)
- ^ Cash Box, May 14, 1977 - Page 45 Additions to R&B Playlists, WESL St. Louis - Jim Gates
- ^ Cash Box, May 28, 1977 - Page 45 Additions to R&B Playlists, WJPC - Chicago - Richard Steele; WLBS - New York - Wanda Ramos
- ^ Record World, May 28, 1977 - Page 26 Discotheque Hit Parade, (Listings are in alphabetical order, by title), FANTASIA/NEW YORK, D.J: Walter Gibbons, TAILGATE - 21st Creation-Gordy (disco disc)
- ^ Record World, June 4, 1977 - Page 78 Discotheque Hit Parade, (Listings are in alphabetical order, by title), PLAYGROUND/NEW YORK, DJ: Tony Carrasco, TAILGATE -21st Creation-Motown (disco disc); EXPERIMENT/NEW YORK DJ: John Benitez, TAILGATE -21st Creation-Motown (disco disc)
- ^ Cash Box, June 4, 1977 - Page 43 Cash Box Top 100 R&B, June 4, 1977 100, 5/28 -, Weens On Chart 1
- ^ Cash Box, June 25, 1977 - Page 46 Cash Box Top 100 R&B, June 25, 1977 95, 6/18 -, Weeks On Chart 4
- ^ Cash Box, July 2, 1977 - Page 53 Cash Box Top 100 R&B, July 2, 1977 95, 6/25 95, Weeks On Chart 5
- ^ Cash Box, July 9, 1977 - Page 37 Cash Box Top 100 R&B, July 9, 1977
- ^ Billboard, May 28, 1977 - Page 52 National Disco Action Top 40, 39 Tailgate - 21st Creation - Motown (12 Inch)
- ^ Billboard, June 11, 1977 - Page 55 National Disco Action Top 40, 37 Tailgate - 21st Creation - Motown (12 Inch)
- ^ Billboard, June 11, 1977 - Page 73 National Disco Action Top 40
- ^ Billboard, June 18, 1977 - Page 60 National Disco Action Top 40
- ^ Billboard, June 25, 1977 - Page 41 National Disco Action Top 40, 32 Tailgate - 21st Creation - Motown (12 Inch)
- ^ Billboard, July 2, 1977 - Page 61 National Disco Action Top 40, 31 Tailgate - 21st Creation - Motown (12 Inch)
- ^ Billboard, July 2, 1977 - Page 61 Billboard's Disco Action, Los Angeles / San Diego, Tailgate - 21st Creation - Motown (12 -inch); Pittsburgh, Tailgate - 21st Creation - Motown (12 -inch)
External links
[edit]- Discogs - 21st Creation – Tailgate
- Metropolitan Soul @MetropolitanSoul channel, Jan 11, 2015 - (audio)