TIR 61: Ride With Al Hudson & Dave Roberson Down One Way’s Funky Road

Al Hudson (left) and Dave Roberson (right) bookend a recent One Way lineup.

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Brought to you by FUNKNSTUFF.NET and hosted by Scott Goldfine — musicologist and author of “Everything Is on THE ONE: The First Guide of Funk” ― “TRUTH IN RHYTHM” is the interview show that gets DEEP into the pocket with contemporary music’s foremost masters of the groove.

Featured in TIR Episode 61 (three segments): Singer-producer-composer Al Hudson and his partner in funk and soul for more than 45 years, guitarist-composer-arranger Dave Roberson. Beginning first in the early 1970s out of Detroit as Al Hudson and the Soul Partners before becoming Al Hudson and the Partners and finally Al Hudson and One Way by the end of that decade, the pair was at the forefront of generating 15 albums and dozens of classic songs. Along with another key collaborator, bassist-composer Kevin McCord, the group unleashed some of the fiercest, most infectious and authentic funk between 1978 and 1987. Between those and a few soul-oriented songs, they notched 13 top 40 R&B singles during a 7-year stretch, five of them reaching the top 10 between 1982 and 1987, including their biggest hit with the throbbing funker “Cutie Pie.”

Other hits and funk classics included “Do Your Thang,” “In the Basement,” “Pop It,” “Copy This,” “Pull Fancy Dancer/Pull,” “Get Up,” “Hold It,” “Push,” “Wild Night,” “Can I,” “Let’s Get Together,” “Don’t Fight the Feeling,” “Shine on Me,” “Sugar Rock,” “Lady You Are,” “Mr. Groove,” Serving It,” “Don’t Think About It,” “Whammy,” “You Better Quit” and “Get Up Off It.” The group lost some complexity in its sound and momentum with the death of mentor-producer Al Perkins, which was a heavy emotional blow to the band as well, and the departure of McCord in the mid-1980s. A label change from MCA to Capitol in 1988 wrought the ironically titled “A New Beginning,” which scarcely charted and was to be the final One Way album.

The fantastic news is that, led by Hudson and Roberson, One Way is not only performing again but also planning to release its first new music in 30 years. In the most in-depth accounting of the One Way saga, Hudson and Roberson talk about the early days, all their albums and those amazing tracks, memories from the road, their most unforgettable experiences and they are so thrilled to be delivering their stellar sounds to audiences once again.

For too long One Way has been a bit enigmatic and often overlooked as being a top-shelf funk-R&B band. No more. One Way’s hottest dozen or so wickedest grooves stack up against any act that has ever scratched a guitar, plucked a bass and thumped a drum. Let there be no doubt that One Way is one of the best ways to funk.

Note: Special thanks to One Way Manager Cal Spencer for helping make this episode possible.

Recorded July 2018

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Scott Goldfine

As a fervid lifelong music & film enthusiast / student, I grew up in and around the Los Angeles entertainment industry. I have worked and held many positions in various media realms, since 1998 serving as Editor-in-Chief and now Associate Publisher for Security Sales & Integration, a trade publication serving the electronic security industry. I love several genres of music & film. The former includes funk (Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince, Ohio Players, etc.); blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales, etc.); rock (Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, etc.); hard rock (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc.); jazz (Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Crusaders, etc.); R&B (Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Gil Scott-Heron, etc.); and more. I was a club disc jockey and ran a mobile DJ company (Musical Moods) for more than 15 years, which is where the name Dr. GX originates (Doctor Good Times). Fave film genres include horror (Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.); science fiction (Aliens, Terminator, 2001, etc.); action (Warriors, Road Warrior, Die Hard); westerns (Outlaw Josey Wales, Showdown at OK Corral; Wild Bunch, etc.); suspense (Jaws, Inception, Silence of the Lambs, etc.); drama (Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, etc.); and comedies (Life of Brian, Superbad, Ruthless People, etc.). I have attended many hundreds of concerts and movies (in theaters or screenings). I may as well also throw in a few favorite TV shows to give an even broader taste of my sensibilities. A handful would be Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Lost, Justified, Fargo, Seinfeld, Sopranos, South Park, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Key & Peele, Monty Python, Inside Amy Schumer, Louie, Modern Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Last Man on Earth, Bob Newhart Show, All in the Family and The Office. Fave authors are Stephen King, Clive Barker and Michael Crichton. I am also a big sports fan and lifelong supporter of the Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB). Also enjoy my family of course, electronics/computers/AV gear, and animals, nature and outdoor activities. Graduate of Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica College and California State University Northridge (Radio-TV-Film, Psychology minor). Also studied at UCLA for kinesiology/psychology and earned post-grad Certificate in Accounting from Santa Monica College. Present main occupation is as Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Security Sales & Integration (SSI), which I joined in 1998. I am responsible for overseeing all editorial content in print. online, electronic, in-person and any other media or products for the electronic security industry's leading business-to-business trade publication. SSI is part of Framingham, Mass.-based Emerald Expositions.