# Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

In 1999, when I first read *Last Night a DJ Saved My Life*, Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton's history of DJ'ing, I was, like many readers, enthralled by the club charts provided in the back of the book. They provided 11 song lists, each representative of a certain club or scene. My only complaint at the time was that none of them were centered around hip hop. There were plenty of house and disco lists, and one that included the most famous Northern Soul tracks, but not one offered any insight into what was going on in the world of hip hop. Last week, I received my copy of the 2022 update of the book. They've made many changes, including rewriting some sections and adding some brand new chapters. It's longer, and even more thorough, than before. They also expanded the song charts in the appendix, adding 10 more, for a total of 21 carefully curated lists. I was quite certain I'd see at least one hip hop list, but to my surprise: still none. Other than this somewhat significant, I believe, oversight, the book is fabulous. It's informative, but more importantly, it's inspiring. Whether you've never heard of DJ'ing, or if you are a seasoned pro with 40 or more years behind the decks under your belt, you will walk away from this book with a renewed passion for DJ'ing. You may also leave with a wistful feeling, wishing you could go back and experience some of the moments described, and wonder if the future of DJ'ing is as bright as its past. Regardless of what you feel, I guarantee you will feel something. That said, I'm more than a little disappointed in their lack of some hip hop charts, so I spent the past couple days pulling out records and compiling a couple lists of my own. Here is the first one that I've completed. Consider this a chart representative of the hip hop scene before it was known as the hip hop scene. These are the records DJs were spinning double copies of, back and forth, to create looped beats for MCs and breakdancers. These are the pre-1980 breaks that form the foundation of what became known in the '80s as hip hop. This is... **The '70s Hip Hop Park Jam 100**20th Century Steel Band - Heaven and Hell is on Earth 7th Wonder - Daisy Lady Aerosmith - Walk This Way All the People - Cramp Your Style B.W. Souls - Marvins Groove Babe Ruth - The Mexican Baby Huey - Listen to Me Banbarra - Shack Up The Bar-Kays - Let's Have Some Fun The Blackbyrds - Unfinished Business Bo Diddley - Hit or Miss Bob James - Take Me to the Mardi Gras Boobie Knight & The Universal Lady - The Lovomaniacs (Sex) Brooklyn Dreams - Music, Harmony and Rhythm The Brothers Johnson - Ain't We Funkin' Now Can - Vitamin C Chester Randle's Soul Sender's - Soul Brother's Testify Chic - Good Times Chicago Gangsters - Gangster Boogie The Chubukos - House of Rising Funk Coke Escovedo - I Wouldn't Change a Thing Commodores - The Assembly Line Cymande - Bra D.C. LaRue - Indiscreet Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band - Scorpio Dexter Wansel - Theme from the Planets Donald Byrd - Change (Makes You Want to Hustle) Dyke & the Blazers - Let a Woman be a Woman and a Man Be a Man Dynamic Corvettes - Funky Music is the Thing Eastside Connection - Frisco Disco Esther Williams - Last Night Changed it All (I Really Had a Ball) Fat Larry's Band - Down on the Avenue Fausto Papetti - Love's Theme First Choice - Love Thang Foster Sylvers - Misdemeanor Freddie Perren - 2 Pigs and a Hog Freedom - Get Up and Dance Funk Inc. - Kool is Back Gaz - Sing Sing The Grass Roots - You and Love Are the Same The Headhunters - God Make Me Funky Herman Kelly and Life - Dance to the Drummer's Beat The Honey Drippers - Impeach the President In Search Of... Orchestra - Phenomena Theme Incredible Bongo Band - Apache Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock Isaac Hayes - Breakthrough Jackie Robinson - Pussyfooter The Jackson Five - It's Great to be Here James Brown - Give it Up or Turnit a Loose James Brown - The Funky Drummer James Brown - Funky President Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Get Happy The Jimmy Castor Bunch - It's Just Begun Joe Tex - Papa Was, Too John Davis and the Monster Orchestra - I Can't Stop Johnny "Hammond" Smith - Shifting Gears Johnny Jenkins - I Walk on Gilded Splinters Johnny Pate - Shaft in Africa (Addis) Juice - Catch a Groove The Kay-Gees - I Believe in Music Kid Dynamite - Uphill Peace of Mind Kool & the Gang - N.T. Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Hihache Lamont Dozier - Take Off Your Make-Up Lee Dorsey - Get Out of My Life, Woman Lowell Fulsom - Tramp The Magic Disco Machine - Scratchin' Mahavishnu Orchestra / John Mclaughlin - Planetary Citizen Manzel - Space Funk Marvin Gaye - "T" Plays it Cool Melvin Bliss - Synthetic Substitution The Meters - Handclapping Song Miami - Chicken Yellow The Mohawks - The Champ Monk Higgins - One Man Band (Plays All Alone) Mountain - Long Red The Olympic Runners - Put the Music Where Your Mouth Is Orchestra Internationale - Chella Lla' Please - Sing a Simple Song Pleasure - Joyous La Pregunta - Shangri La Ralph McDonald - Jam on the Groove Rhythm Heritage - Theme from S.W.A.T. Rick James - Fire It Up Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Running Away Rufus Thomas - Do the Funky Penguin Sir Joe Quarterman and Free Soul - I'm Gonna Get You The Soul Searchers - Ashley's Roachclip Stanley Turrentine with Milt Jackson - Sister Sanctified Thin Lizzy - Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed The Village Callers - Hector The Whole Darn Family - Seven Minutes of Funk Wilbur Bascomb and the Zodiac - Just a Groove in "G" The Wild Magnolias - (Somebody Got) Soul, Soul, Soul Wilson Pickett - Get Me Back on Time The Winstons - Amen Brother Yellow Sunshine - Yellow Sunshine Z.Z. Hill - I Think I'd Do It