7. James BrownBody Heat

When I grew up, my mom had records. When I say we had records, I mean records: we had LPs, albums, 12”s, 45s. Me and my brother used to love her playing Body Heat. The rhythm of it would have us laughing. We’d always tell her, ‘Play it again.’ It got to the point where she knew what to do. Me and my brother would laugh and dance. Our main part was at the end, when you hear the sirens. We’d had a blast just listening to the sirens. ‘Play it again! Play it again!’ It’s one that never fades away.

I was probably just five years old then living in these projects, Rockwell Gardens, on the West Side of Chicago. My father and my moms had gone their separate ways, and he’d just left and gone to Boston to pursue more of his music career.