The first time that I ever heard Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, I was 11 years old.  I was on the school bus #82 travelling back and forth to Town and Country Day School in Wheaton when “Bustin’ Loose” came on the radio.  As a young, white girl it was unbelievable to me as everyone on the bus started to sing along.  On the school bus, that day, we were one.  This song was totally different than the songs that came out of the small white table top radio in my house at dinner time.  We listened to Don McLean singing about “Miss American Pie” and danced along to Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock” while the voice of Captain Dan in ‘copter 12-6-0oooo” would periodically break in to give us the rush hour traffic update.

“It don’t mean a thing if it don’t have the Go-Go Swing!”- Chuck Brown

Bus 82 was the school bus that provided door to door transportation to the students who lived in the Upper Northwest/Downtown Silver Spring corridor and since I grew up in downtown Silver Spring, I rode this bus.  I was exposed to Chuck Brown, Parliament Funkadelic, the Isley Brothers and all of the funk and soul acts as one of the older kids- Bo Sampson, Jimmy Cobb or Blair George or maybe our bus driver “Catfish”, brought a pocket radio every day for the daily groove session sing-a-longs.  Imagine me, an 11 year old Jewish kid singing along to “Amen” by the Impressions.  All of this provided the sounds that would mold me musically for the next 39 years.

“Oh, when we are one, I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid!”- Chuck Brown

One of my very best friends, still to this day, Gena Johnson, also rode that bus and as youngsters we became tried and true Chuck fans that would carry us well into our present day adulthood.  Simply, Chuck Brown provided the soundtrack to my life, and hers and legions of fans from Bus 82 to those across the entire DC Metropolitan area.

“Keep what you got until you get what you need.  You’ve got to give a lot just to get what you need sometimes y’all.” – Chuck Brown

Chuck was played at every single one of our birthday celebrations- or we would celebrate during his birthday at the 9:30 Club.  He was with us at New Year’s celebrations by CD or live when the lavish buffet at the hotel where he was playing consisted of pigs in a blanket and a lack of champagne while the countdown to midnight was off by 10 seconds or so.  It didn’t matter because we were with Chuck.  He was with us during summers when we were eating crabs and drinking beer, when we were in our early 20’s buying wine coolers from Sam’s Beer and Wine on Georgia Avenue, at our holiday parties, while we were laying on the beach in Dominican Republic a decade ago celebrating the year of our 40th birthdays, sitting on the wall of the Malecon in Havana, Cuba playing Chuck from our iPods for any Cuban who would listen or in our early 20’s cruising up and down Georgia Avenue on weekend nights- Chuck was always with us.  And, as long as he was with us, we remained, in our own minds, as ageless and timeless as he was.

“Whatever you do, big or small, do it well or don’t do it at all.”- Chuck Brown

As I got older and started my career writing for various publications, I had ample opportunity to speak with Chuck and develop a wonderful relationship with him.  As humble as he was, he was larger than life!  From his pigeon-toed stance to his toothy grin with the ever-present big smile for all, he made everyone feel like family.  He taught us life lessons that we will carry with us forever and ever.  He taught us that a smile can get you everywhere, but hard work and the right combination of people can get you to the Grammys.  He taught us that if you go through life and are kind and encouraging, you will rarely have an enemy.  He taught us that you can take a bad situation, learn your lesson from it, strive to be a better person and you will have success in abundance.  He taught us about Jazz and Blues legends through his interpretations of “Run Joe”, “Go-Go Swing”, “2001”, “Misty”, “Moody’s Mood” and so, so many more.  He taught us that it is ok to cover a tune, but make sure that you add your own spin to it so people know that it’s you and not a regurgitated version of the original.  He was genius.

“Chuck Baby don’t give a f***”- Crowd   “Yes I do!” – Chuck Brown

As Gena and I aged into our late 30’s and early 40’s schleping down to the Safeway BBQ Battle to see Chuck took a little more effort, we were always instantly transformed back to a time and place where we were on Bus #82 or in our early 20’s at Rock Creek Park with a huge spread of crabs and beer.  It didn’t matter because whatever grown up issues we were going through, Chuck was there and everything was ok.

“If I ever get my hands on a dollar again, I’m gonna squeeze on it ’til the eagle grins.”- Chuck Brown

The day Chuck passed away, Gena and I had a conversation.  We were talking about our experiences and how lucky we were to grow up in DC and have Chuck in our lives.  Gena said, “Go-Go is the rhythm that makes your body move.  And no one did it better than Chuck.  There’s always a party when Chuck is playing.  He makes sure the audience has a good time.  He was a great musician whether he was playing Go-Go or Jazz.  It’s about the music with him.  He always gives the audience something to groove to.  There is no flashy stage production necessary.  He IS the best.”

“When I step onstage I forgot all about my age, I think about you.  Cause I love to see y’all groove.”- Chuck Brown

The last conversation that I had with Chuck was at the Go-Go Awards in 2011, a year before he passed away.  We were happy to see each other and hugged.  After speaking for a few minutes, his daughter, KK walked by.  He said to me, “Jill, have you ever met my daughter KK?”  I told him that I had not.  He introduced us with that warm smile of his, “I am so proud of KK,” Chuck beamed.  That was our last conversation.

“Sho ya right!” – Chuck Brown

This article was one that I initially published with Examiner.com on February 29, 2012.  I felt it was appropriate to reprint due to the loss of Byron “BJ” Jackson, who many don’t know was a major force behind this hit song.

The setting is 1987 in the DMV.  Guess jeans, partying at Triple’s Night Club, fly hairdos and the many things that still make you smile to this very day when you think back while scratching your head trying to believe that it’s been 25 years.

For a music lover, 1987 was also the year that 20 year old Vincent “Vinnie D.” Davis unleashed one of the DMV’s signature rap songs, $55 Motel.

And if you partied at Triple’s Night Club, then there is no doubt that you remember the Stagecoach Inn, which, according to Davis, was the muse for the hit.

“The actual price was $54 and some change, “laughs Davis.

The landscape has changed over the past 25 years and the motel immortalized as the $55 motel has been knocked to the ground as has Triple’s Night Club.  The Stagecoach Inn replaced by a CVS and in the spot where Triple’s once stood, where we danced inside until we were dripping with sweat is now a 7-11.

Davis shares, “It’s a true story that actually happened.  I wrote that song in my bedroom at my momma’s house when I was about 17 or 18.  That’s about right because I was a Coolidge High School graduate of the class of 1985.  It’s funny because I wasn’t trying to be a rapper at all. That was the first rap that I ever wrote.  I probably thought that I could sing at the time and had been making songs since I was 14.  It was also like a rebellion for me because my family was religious so it was bittersweet to see your son winning through sinning.  Momma was proud though.”

It was time for Davis to go into the studio.  He worked closely with two members of Rare Essence, the hottest band in the city at the time. The Wickedest Band Alive, as the fans referred to them.  Michael “Funky Ned” Neal and Byron “BJ” Jackson oversaw the recording.

“I had the use of Ned’s equipment and a bigger sound than the demo.  Byron is actually responsible for the hook on the song and you can hear that pattern on many Essence tapes where the whistle was used.  That beat was used through the 90’s by every Go Go band and I smile when I hear it.  The song is original.  The bassline follows Anita Baker’s ‘Been So Long’ on the part where I am rapping her lyrics and the final bridge of the song is the chord progression from Roberta Flack’s ‘Killing Me Softly’.  I jacked chord progressions a bit, but creatively!  I loved the way Junkyard played my song the most.  They used to kill it.  I always wanted to do it with them, but it just never happened for whatever reason.  The pre-production was done in Ned’s basement and the actual song was recorded in a studio that was over Discount Mart at Eastover Shopping Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland” Davis recalls.

Kolossal Records, a local record label in the mid to late 80’s released “$55 Motel”.  Again, the Rare Essence connection comes into play as Donnell Floyd and Quentin “Footz” Davidson, both members of Rare Essence, owned Kolossal Records.

Davis makes it a point to misspell the “Kolossal” label.  With a devilish grin, he explains, “It was Kollassal spelled wrong on purpose because they misspelled my name as ‘Vennie’, when it’s ‘Vinnie’!”

As most artists can recall the “where” and the “when” of where they were the very first time they ever heard their song being played on the radio.  Davis has a different story.  He quietly says, “I missed out on that joy.  Believe it or not, they weren’t really playing rap on FM radio like that back then.  And the wild part is the song was considered vulgar and they would spin the instrumental rather than the vocal version.  I remember having problems initially, but AM radio played it and it lights a party up with our generation to this day.”

Aside from not getting the airplay that “$55 Motel” deserved, Davis is happy with the outcome and really credits what was going on in DC at the time of the release of the song with its popularity and solid placement in the history of the music of DC.

“Those times were pure fun!  Crystal Skate, Chuck E. Cheese, Go GOs. high school Go Gos, Georgetown University campus parties when the Hoyas were dominating, asymmetrical hair and cool girls!  You could get like 5 (phone) numbers after each party and the parties were live.  There was none of this texting on the dance floor.  The dance floor and walls were always wet and the girls’ hair had always fallen because we partied as hard as humanly possible.  Males and females had zero problems interacting and we did have fights, but that was just teen spirit and yes, DC was a fight town.  We grew up fighting, but it was all hands until the crack came.  All of this influenced the song.  We had the flyest girls on the East Coast.  New York and Philly hustlers used to bring their little girlfriends down here to get their hair done because DC girls could not be messed with when it came to their hair.  Their girls were still wearing ‘snatch backs’ and ‘mushrooms'”, Davis chuckles and grins.

He sits back and explains, “That song helped me because I made money off of appearances.  As a matter of fact, Sean (Diddy) Combs was one of my dancers.  He was so greedy, always asking for more money.  It was him, Ron Deberry, who is now a promoter here in DC, and Obataye, who was a promoter in NY.  I will share a funny story.  Diddy had an apartment in NE while he went to Howard (University).  My cousin grew up with him in Mt. Vernon, NY and he hooked us up.  He always managed to be in the right place at the right time.  He was broke and drove a VW.  My little MONEY crew was always renting limos and there was never enough room for the dancers ’cause the money crew were deep so the dancers rode in his GTI.  It’s kinda funny, but foul looking back.  Dude had a lot of ambition.  Respect to him.  He extended opportunities while he was at Uptown/MCA and he did reach out when Bad Boy was on its way while we were at Jack the Rapper, but I was on some neo soul funk jazz singing ish in Atlanta, happy with a band and didn’t capitalize.”

But, when one door closes, another soon will open, or so we all hope.  It did for Davis.  “My last big record deal was with Snoop Dogg in 2004 when MCA folded.  They released ‘Doggy Style All Stars Welcome to the House’.  I have two songs on that one under the name Vinnie Bernard.  One, ‘Trouble’ is all me.  The other one ‘Just Get Carried Away’ is Snoop, Uncle Reo and me.  I’m still connected and even though a lot of people have faith in me, I just haven’t managed to pop anything off lately.”

And fast forwarding from the time we first heard “$55 Motel” in 1987 to 2012 where you aren’t surprised by anything you hear on the radio, the years bring maturity.

Davis thoughtfully responds, “Now? I’m living a cool, simplistic life- single, no kids, studying music and shooting for a degree, but more for growth in music rather than the certificate.  I have grown a lot since those days, but we had a ball and they will never party like we used to then- Never!  Impossible!  Come on Slim, the floors and the walls were soaking wet!  We did it all!”