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Blowfly (musician)

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Blowfly
On stage, circa 2005.
On stage, circa 2005.
Background information
Birth nameClarence Reid
Born (1939-02-14) February 14, 1939 (age 85)
OriginCochran, Georgia, United States
GenresComedy, Funk, Soul, rap
Occupation(s)comedian, vocalist, songwriter
Instrumentvocals
LabelsTK Records, Alternative Tentacles

Clarence Henry Reid (born February 14, 1939,[1] Cochran, Georgia, United States),[2] is an American musician and songwriter, also known by the stage name and alternate persona Blowfly.[3][4][5] Reid wrote for many R&B acts in the 1960s and 1970s. As Blowfly, he has recorded numerous albums, mostly of sex-based parodies of other songs, but also including original sexually explicit songs. His stage name originated from his grandmother, who overheard him as a child singing "Do the Twist" as "Suck My Dick", and said "You is nastier than a blowfly." An alternate spelling used for his name on some of his early recordings is Blow Fly.

Biography

Reid wrote and produced for artists including Betty Wright, Sam & Dave, Gwen McCrae, and KC & the Sunshine Band. And he recorded many songs of his own in the '60s and '70s including "Nobody But You Babe".

Reid would also write sexually explicit versions of hit songs for fun but only performed them for his friends at parties or in the studio. In 1971 he along with a band of studio musicians recorded a whole album of "dirty" songs under the name "Blowfly". The album, The Weird World of Blowfly, features Reid dressed as a low-rent supervillain on its cover. Reid created this alter ego to protect his career as a songwriter. Reid continued to perform in bizarre costumes as his Blowfly character and continued to record sexually explicit albums throughout the 70s and 80s. The albums were widely popular as "party records".

Many of Blowfly's songs featured rappingand many consider Blowfly to have been the first dirty rapper. The explicit version of his song "Rapp Dirty" (a.k.a. "Blowfly's Rapp [sic]") helped the album Blowfly's Party reach #26 on Billboard magazine's Black Albums chart and #82 on the Billboard Top 200 in 1980.[citation needed]

Blowfly's profane style earned Reid legal trouble. He was sued by songwriter Stanley Adams, who was ASCAP president at the time, for spoofing "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" as "What a Difference a Lay Makes". Reid's own compositions have been sampled by dozens of hip hop, R&B, and electronic artists (such as Beyonce, Wu Tang Clan, DJ Quik, DMX, Method Man & Redman, Main Source, DJ Shadow, Eazy-E, RJD2, Jurassic 5, Big Daddy Kane, Mary J. Blige, Brand Nubian, and the Avalanches) but Reid has received almost no money from sampling due to losing most of his copyrights to a loan shark.

Reid's daughter is former WNBA player Tracy Reid.

21st century

After 17 years of sporadic touring and occasional re-recording of his classic raps, Blowfly signed with Jello Biafra's independent Alternative Tentacles label in 2005. His first album for Alternative Tentacles, Fahrenheit 69 (2005), featured appearances from Slug of Atmosphere, King Coleman, Gravy Train, and Afroman. Other recent tours have included a headlining appearance at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans and shows with Rudy Ray Moore (Dolemite), Devin The Dude, DJ Frane, and Blueprint. In March 2007, Blowfly completed his first tour of Australia.

Blowfly's second Alternative Tentacles release is Blowfly's Punk Rock Party. The album features several punk classics given the Blowfly treatment, including a rewrite of the Dead Kennedys song "Holiday in Cambodia" recast as "R. Kelly in Cambodia", that features Biafra (the song's composer and original singer) playing a trial judge.

In 2008 Blowfly toured Germany with Die Ärzte.

Blowfly performed at the Big Day Out 2010, a music festival held in Australia and New Zealand every January.

A documentary about Blowfly, The Weird World of Blowfly, directed by Jonathan Furmanski, premiered at the 2010 South by Southwest film festival.[3] It was released in theaters and on DVD in September 2011.[6]

Discography

Albums

  • Dancin' With Nobody But You Babe (as Clarence Reid) (1969)
  • Weird World of Blowfly (1971)
  • Running Water (as Clarence Reid) (1973)
  • Blowfly on TV (1974)
  • Zodiac Blowfly (1975)
  • Oldies But Goodies (1976)
  • On The Job (as Clarence Reid) (1976)
  • Blowfly's Disco Party (1977)
  • At the Movies (1977)
  • Porno Freak (1978)
  • Zodiac Party (1978)
  • Blowfly's Party (1980) #82 US, #26 Black Albums
  • Rappin Dancing & Laughin (1981)
  • Butterfly (1981)
  • Fresh Juice (1983)
  • Electronic Banana (1985)
  • On Tour 1986 (1986)
  • Blowfly and the Temple of Doom (1987)
  • Blowfly for President (1988)
  • Freak Party (1989)
  • Twisted World of Blowfly (1991)
  • 2001: A Sex Odyssey (1996)
  • Analthology: The Best of Blowfly (1996)
  • Blowfly Does XXX-Mas (1999)
  • Fahrenheit 69 (2005)
  • Blowfly's Punk Rock Party (2006)
  • Live At the Platypussery (2008)
  • Black in the Sack (2012)

Singles

  • "Rapp Dirty" 12"/7" (1980)
  • "Disco Party" 7" (1980)
  • "Christmas Party/New Year's Party" 12" (1980)
  • "Incredible Fulk" (1980)
  • "Electronic Pussy Sucker" 12" (1983)
  • "Funk You" 12" (1984)
  • "Butt Pirate Luv" b/w "F U In The A" (2006) (Cheerleader vocals by Shannon Thier aka "Sheigh Zam" & Amy Pomerant)
  • "Burning Pussy" b/w "Destructo Cock" - Split single with ANTiSEEN (2008)
  • "Hole Man/ Hold On It's Running b/w Movie Maniac Medley (2008)

References

  1. ^ "Bios". BlowflyFilm.com (official site, documentary The Weird World of Blowfly. 2011. Archived from the original on September 15, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Mason, Stewart (1945-02-14). "Blowfly - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  3. ^ a b The New York Times
  4. ^ The Los Angeles Times
  5. ^ Sun Sentinel
  6. ^ Blowfly’s Party: Cinema Dates Confirmed for ‘Dirty Rapper’ Documentary MusicFilmWeb.com Retrieved 8 August 2011

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