Machine was an American
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
,
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
and
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
group, formed in New York City and originally active from 1977 to 1981. The band reached its biggest success with the single "There but for the Grace of God Go I", which became a
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
hit in 1979.
Career
The band was originally formed by singer/guitarist Jay Stovall in 1973 with the release of the single "One Guy Too Late," written and produced by Van "Do the Hustle" McCoy on the United Artist records/Abbot label. The band was later reformed in 1977
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
with the intent to create a funk rock group.
The band released its self-titled debut album in 1979, which produced its most famous single "There But For The Grace Of God Go I". The song describes two Latino parents named Carlos and Carmen Vidal who move out of
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
to protect their baby daughter.
In their new surroundings, their daughter is cut off from her own heritage and becomes self-destructive from the Vidals' cosseting. When the daughter grows up, her parents find she is the type of person from whom all their peers are trying to protect their own children. It ends with the mother's conclusion that "Too much love is worse than none at all."
The song ended up being censored twice: the original lyrics in the 3rd verse "popping pills and smoking weed" were changed to "gaining weight and losing sleep" and later the first verse lyrics "let's find a place they say, somewhere far away, with no blacks, no jews and no gays" was changed to "let's find a place they say, somewhere far away, where only upper class people stay".
"There But For The Grace Of God Go I" was a hit for the band, reaching number 77 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spending ten weeks on the chart. In ''
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
said the song was "irresistible musically—still the disco disc of
979
Year 979 ( CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* March 24 – Second Battle of Pankaleia: An Ibero-Byzantine expeditionary ...
, although he found the rest of Machine's first album either "mildly arresting musically" or "ordinary
Isleys-influenced
black pop
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
/
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
/
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
".
''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' later named it the sixth greatest dance song,
and ''
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
'' included it in its collection of ''
The Pitchfork 500
''The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present'' is a book compiling the greatest songs from 1977 to 2006, published in 2008 by Pitchfork Media. The book focuses on specific genres including indie rock, hip-hop, el ...
''.
Machine released its second and final album ''Moving On'' in 1980 with two accompanying singles, but the album suffered from poor sales. The group disbanded the following year, and
August Darnell
Thomas August Darnell Browder (born August 12, 1950), known professionally as August Darnell and under the stage name Kid Creole, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He co-founded Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and subsequently ...
, the group's most successful producer, went on to form
Kid Creole and the Coconuts
Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created by August Darnell with Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin American, Caribbean, an ...
, who released a cover of "There but for the Grace of God Go I" in 1980.
In 2009, three of the band's original members, Jay Stovall, Kevin Nance, and Clare Bathé, reformed the act for a tour.
Discography
Albums
*''Machine'' (1979)
*''Moving On'' (1980)
Singles
*"There but For the Grace of God Go I" (RCA Victor, 1979) (
''Billboard'' Hot 100 #77, ''Billboard''
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
#91, ''Billboard''
Hot Dance Club Play
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
#8)
*"Is It Love" / "I Finally Found" (RCA Victor, 1980) (''Billboard''
Hot Dance Club Play
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
#27)
*"Power and Reason" / "Thunder, Lightning, and Rain" (RCA, 1980)
In popular culture
An altered version of "There but for the Grace of God Go I," was featured in the 2016 Netflix series ''
The Get Down
''The Get Down'' is an American musical drama television series created by Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis. The series debuted on Netflix on August 12, 2016, and was cancelled after the first season.
Produced by Sony Pictures Television, t ...
''. In season 1, episode 2 ("Seek Those Who Fan Your Flames"), Mylene Cruz (portrayed by
Herizen F. Guardiola) enlists the help of Ezekiel "Zeke" Figuero (portrayed by
Justice Smith
Justice Elio Smith (born August 9, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'', '' Pokémon: Detective Pikachu'', and ''All the Bright Places''.
Early life
Smith was born in Ca ...
) to write a song for her church solo so that she may impress music producer Jackie Moreno (portrayed by
Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan (born ) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances include support ...
). The song that Zeke writes is untitled, but it is known that it is "There but for the Grace of God Go I," as Zeke muses aloud on the lyrics. Mylene gives a powerful introduction to the song, seemingly overtaken by the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
, and the chorus is chanted/sung in Spanish ("antes de la gloria de Dios, ay voy yo") by Mylene and a few members of the choir before she launches into the song in English, with piano
accompaniment
Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...
by Zeke.
The lyrics were changed in this version; for instance, "let's find a place they say, somewhere far away, with no Blacks, no Jews and no gays" was changed to "let's find a place to stay, somewhere far away, where they do and play and sing as they may."
Jay Stovall appeared in 2017 on "
The People's Court
''The People's Court'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality styl ...
" in episode titled "Sizzling Mad Disco Singer".
The song was featured in ''
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machine (band)
American soul musical groups
Musical groups established in 1977
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
RCA Records artists
American funk musical groups
American disco groups