Grooves & Samples #32: Tyrone Davis – In The Mood (1979)

Grooves & Samples is a weekly dive into old dusty crates of jazz, funk, soul and beyond.

When it came to soulful and romantic ballads during the 70s, few could come close to touching the skills of the mighty Tyrone Davis. In the late 60s he had a break out hit on the R&B and pop charts with “Can I Change My Mind”, a track which has still not lost in ineffable charm. After that first hit, Davis never looked back. His career continued with the success of many more billboard charting hits and a huge output. Impressively, Tyrone managed to put out an album nearly every 1 or 2 years from 1969 all the way to 2004. Talk about a work ethic! Few artists anywhere can match the artistic output and commercial success of the Chicago-based soulful crooner.

Our sample feature for this week is a highly recognizable cut from his 1979 album In The Mood. The title track features an incredibly catchy little introduction that is just begging for an MPC overhaul. In fact, this little loop caught the attention of many a producer and has been flipped many times over the years. Check out the original below as well as some of the different rap reworkings.