Deep Groove Encyclopedia - Eugene McDaniels

Eugene McDaniels

emcdaniels.jpg (6326 bytes)

Click below for a Eugene McDaniels sample:

In an earlier existance, Gene McDaniels made his lot as a crooner of Brook Benton-styled material. "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" and "Tower of Strength" were major hits in the early 60s, but pale in comparison to his 70s work. Having witnessed the upheaveal of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, brother Gene went back to using his full name and dropped some heavy soul on the world with Outlaw and Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse. Adopting a fiercely conscious perspective worlds removed from his early days, McDaniels used players like Harry Whitaker and Alphonze Mouzon to give his lyrics some weight. Perhaps the heat got to be too much for McDaniels; within 3 years he was writing "Feel Like Making Love" for Roberta Flack.

Eugene McDaniels' Deepest Grooves

Outlaw (Atlantic, 1970)

Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse (Atlantic, 1971)
This one was reportedly the cause for some serious discussions between Atlantic Records and government officials, who didn't like the tone of "Headless Heroes" or "Freedom Death Dance." Special interference or not, the LP was not promoted very well, sold poorly, and McDaniels was out of a gig. As a result, it's become something of a funk Holy Grail, and Label M finally put it out on cd. One look at the cover art will tell you why hip-hoppers into New World Order conspiracies took so heartily to the album. One listen to the chunky beats will tell you why it's been a rare groove collectable for the last 30 years.