1. Do What You Wanna Do (Coakley) - 7:15
2. Disco Magic (Coakley/Wade) - 7:15
3. Go Back Home (Coakley) - 3:45
4. Got to See My Lady (Coakley) - 4:30
5. Crazy Mixed up World (Coakley) - 3:15
6. Mother's Love (Coakley) - 3:30
7. Monday Morning (Coakley) - 3:15
8. Peace Line (Coakley) - 5:05
DO WHAT YOU WANNA DO Release date: 1977 Label: RCA
Do What You Wanna Do
Mothers Love
ON FIRE Release date: 1977 Label: T.K. Productions /Dash
1. On Fire
2. Prisoner of My Mind
3. Lady of the Night
4. Watching You
5. Let Yourself Go
6. Groove to Get Down
7. Cush
8. Playing Games
TOTALLY CONNECTED Release Date: 1979 Label: Dash
1. Totally Connected
2. Ecstasy
3. Let's Do It Today (Coakley)
4. I Like Funkin' With You
5. Choosing
6. That's Love
7. Danger Zone
8. Born to Boogie (Coakley)
T-CONNECTION Release date: 1979 Label: Dash
1. Funkanection
2. Comin' Back For More
3. Funky Lady
4. Don't Stop The Music
5. Saturday Night
6. At Midnight
7. Midnight Train
8. Love Supreme
EVERYTHING IS COOL Release Date: 1981 Label: Capitol
1. Groove City (Coakley/Coakley/Flowers/MacKay) - 5:20
2. Spend the Night With Me (Coakley) - 4:57
3. Spinnin' (Flowers) - 4:37
4. Paradise (Coakley) - 5:22
5. Everything Is Cool (MacKay) - 4:27
6. Give Me Your Love (Coakley) - 4:50
7. Heaven In Your Eyes (Coakley) - 5:36
8. We've Got a Good Thing (Coakley) - 4:14
PURE & NATURAL Release date: 1982 Label: Capitol
1. Girl Watching (Coakley)
2. Party Night
3. Little More Love (Coakley)
4. Slippin' Away (Coakley)
5. Might as Well Dance
6. Rushing Through the Crowd
7. Best of My Love (Coakley)
8. Groombay Time
THE GAME OF LIFE Release date: 1983 Label: Capitol
No Information Available
TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT
Release Date: 1984
Label: Capitol
No Information Available
Best Of T-Connection: At Midnight Release date: 1995 Label: Hot Productions
01. Do What You Wanna Do (Coakley) - 7:14
02. Disco Magic (Coakley/Wade) - 7:14
03. Go Back Home (Coakley) - 3:46
04. Got to See My Lady (Coakley) - 4:34
05. Peace Line (Coakley) - 5:04
06. At Midnight (Coakley/Mackey) - 9:42
07. On Fire (Getting Higher) (Coakley) - 7:24
08. Ecstasy (Coakley) - 4:40
09. Let's Do It Today (Coakley) - 4:02
10. Choosing (Coakley) - 6:09
11. That's Love (Coakley) - 4:21
12. Born to Boogie (Coakley) - 4:30
13. Midnight Train (Coakley/Mackey) - 4:30
14. Love Supreme (Coakley) - 4:58
The Best of T-Connection: EVERYTHING'S STILL COOL Release date: 1997 Label: Capitol/EMI America
01. Everything Is Cool (Mackey) - 4:26
02. Spinnin' (Flowers) - 4:34
03. A Little More Love (Coakley) - 4:41
04. The Best of My Life (Coakley) - 6:11
05. Slippin' Away (Coakley) - 4:24
06. Give Me Your Love (Coakley) - 3:40
07. Heaven in Your Eyes (Coakley) - 5:34
08. Paradise (Coakley) - 5:20
09. We've Got a Good Thing (Coakley) - 4:10
10. Goombay Time (Coakley/Coakley) - 4:22
11. Spend the Night With Me (Coakley) - 4:49
12. In Another Life (Coakley) - 5:05
13. Girl Watching (Coakley) - 4:49
14. Groove City (Coakley/Coakley/Flowers/Mackey) - 5:18
1. Funkanection (Coakley) - 5:07
2. Comin' Back for More (Coakley) - 3:29
3. Funky Lady (Coakley) - 3:57
4. Don't Stop the Music (Coakley) - 4:33
5. Saturday Night (Coakley/Mackey) - 4:28
6. At Midnight (Coakley/Mackey) - 5:06
7. Midnight Train (Coakley/Mackey) - 4:32
8. Love Supreme (Coakley) - 5:01
9. Do What You Wanna Do (Coakley) - 7:15
10. Disco Magic (Coakley/Wade) - 7:15
11. Go Back Home (Coakley) - 3:45
12. Got to See My Lady (Coakley) - 4:30
13. Crazy Mixed up World (Coakley) - 3:15
14. Mother's Love (Coakley) - 3:30
15. Monday Morning (Coakley) - 3:15
16. Peace Line (Coakley) - 5:05
1. Do What You Wanna Do (Coakley) - 3:30
2. Disco Magic (Coakley/Wade) - 3:20
3. On Fire (Coakley) - 3:48
4. Everything Is Cool (Mackey) - 4:27
5. Groove City (Coakley/Flowers/Mackey) - 5:26
6. A Little More Love (Coakley) - 4:48
7. Party Night (Coakley) - 5:05
8. Girl Watching (Coakley) - 4:53
9. Tonight's the Night (Coakley) - 3:46
10. Love Odyssey (Love Shines Forever) (Coakley) - 3:40
11. Take It to the Limit (Coakley/Coakley) - 4:35
12. You Can Feel the Groove (Coakley) - 5:00
Recorded between 1977 & 1984.
VARIOUS DISCO HITS: SHAKE YOUR BOOTY Release date: Label: Flashback
Shake Your Booty (K.C. & The Sunshine Band) Do What You Wanna Do - T-Connection
Quiet Village (The Ritchie Family)
Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me - Peter Brown
Dance, Dance, Dance - Chic
Disco Inferno (The Trammps)
Supernature - Cerrone
Chattanooga Choo Choo - Tuxedo Junction
One More Minute (St. Tropez)
Dance With Me - Peter Brown
VARIOUS DISCO HITS - VOL. 4 Release date: Label: Rhino
I Want Your Love - Chic
Every 1's A Winner - Hot Chocolate
Shame, Shame, Shame, - Shirley & Company
I Like What You're Doing To Me (Young & Company)
Disco Nights (Rock-Freak) - Gq
Overture (D.c. Larue)
Hooked For Life (The Trammps)
Miss Broadway (Belle Epoque)
Hot Shot - Karen Young At Midnight - T-Connection
VARIOUS DISCO HITS: That's The Way I Like It
That's The Way I Like It (K.c. & The Sunshine Band)
I Like What You're Doin' To Me (Young & Company)
Hooked For Life (The Trammps)
Miss Broadway (Belle Epoque)
Every 1's A Winner - Hot Chocolate
I Want Your Love - Chic
Hot Shot - Karen Young At Midnight - T-Connection
Disco Nights (Rock-Freak) - Gq
Shame, Shame, Shame - Shirley & Company
T-Connection embodies the disco era of the seventies. Their mix of disco and funk fused with goombay and junkanoo influences gave the group a sound that might have been difficult for the popular market to fully understan. However, many of their songs were well received. In listening to their many albumn, I agree with the critics that clain that they were not consistent from year to year. In my opinion, that is a plus. T continued to re-difine his band from year to year until he reaches the plateau of the album "Pure & Natural" where he did what he realkly wanted to do as a composer/producer. The influences used are vast. Rock, pop, classical, funk, R&B. It was all there. I enjoy each album on its own merit. The music reminds me of most of the artist that just did music for its own sake, not being directed and driven by an industry that tries to place you in a pigeon hole. That kind of artistic freedom, if you listen, is what can be foungd in the varied styles and experiments by this master musical chemist. Like junkanoo, T used what was available to him, that is, in the styles that were available, and re-invented it to suit his taste.
This first excerpt is taken from T-Connection's first major hit. It lasted 8 weeks on the Billboard charts which set a record. If you were to to listen to junkanoo music, the rhythms are introduced in a very subtle way. The disco era however dominates the influence in this song. I particularly like the lyrical content of songs written by T. The international appeal in his story brought a fresh twist to what was going on in the islands. Typically, songs were based on local themes, but, that changed with T-Connection gaining popularity internationally.
Click play to hear "Do What You Wanna Do" -
This next excerpt is very progressive. The use of strings adds a flavor rarely heard before in Bahamian recordings. In a time when instrumental music was mainly jazz, T created a unique composition which made use of harmonies uncommon in Bahamian music lterature. Sharp four diminish chords? I don't think we'l find too much of that in music of the Islands.
Click play to hear "Cush" pt. 1 -
In the second part of the same song, T demonstrates his mastery of the piano. The classical and jazz training is more than evident in this next excerpt.
Click play to hear excerpt from piano solo in the song "Cush" pt. 2 -
Harold Melvin & The Blue Note and James Brown were among the soul singers that dominated the seventies. Berkley, T-Connection's drummer and vocalist, had one of the most agressive voices on the Bahamian music scene. T-Connection made good use of his instrument which produced many hits for the group. The song "At Midnight" another of the groups big hits was also sung by Berkley.
Click play to hear "Born To Boogie " -
T, along with his brother Kirk came together and made goombay music their way. Junkanoo riffs and other familiar rhythms permeates this next excerpt. The funk style of bass playing that was made popular by artist like George Duke and Bootsy Collins among others are strummed with ease by brother Kirk.
Click play to hear "Goombay Time" -
Junkanoo in the Bahamas affords us the opportunity to go downtown Bay Street and dance. This festival, which is a procession of colorful costumes, music, and dancing in the streets is the topic of this next song. At a time when the mini moog was the syntheiser of choice, T mastered the sounds that needed to be programmed on stage in real time. T developed a reputation of being on of our premier music synthesist. The fusion of funk and junkanoo blends well in the hands of the T-Connection.
