Rockschool with Professor Lightfoot

The estimable Bobby Lightfoot is conducting a master class on making music. I have been enjoying his recordings for the last few months, and often find myself thumbing the little joystick forward past Al Green and the O-Jays to hear Bobby's (and his big bro's) stylings.

I found my copy of ROCKSCHOOL 2 mixed in with the vinyl when I rescued that box from 15 years of neglect in the basement. As with most of the albums, it doesn't hold up all that well 20 years on. (I certainly am not holding up much better after these past 20 years, but that's for a different post.) The black and white photos of the luminaries of post-disco pre-grunge popular music are depressing, not least because both the Commodores and Van Halen are cited as exemplary of anything other than suckfulness. Fortunately, there appears to be no mention of Grand Funk RR.

The quantum leap from the technology of that day (I had never heard of the Prophet 5 or the Yellow Magic Orchestra) to the marvels of GarageBand and podcasting is remarkable.

Bobby should write a book updating this volume. Maybe he has Herbie Hancock's phone number? There could even be a PBS series in it, although some of the graphics may need to be vetted by legal and standards at CPB.