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DJ Cassidy’s Top ‘Vinyl’ Tracks: See His Playlist!

DJ Cassidy picked out his favorite cuts from the hit HBO series Vinyl, which follows a New York music executive trying to make it big in the 1970s. The “Kill the Lights” producer has worked at a number of celebrity events, including Jay Z and Beyonce’s wedding and President Barack Obama’s 50th birthday party. Check out the New York City native’s favorite Vinyl tracks, shared exclusively with Us Weekly!

It’s Just Begun” by Jimmy Castor Bunch: “This 1972 funk classic by a native New Yorker became a B-boy anthem by the late ’70s and remains a prolific piece of hip-hop culture. As a DJ, this is one of the most important dance records of all time, not to mention a New York icon.

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Handclapping Song” by The Meters: “If you’ve ever heard or spoken the saying ‘clap your hands now,’ you owe a debt of gratitude to this 1970 funky jam that taught everybody how to clap not only to the beat, but in between it.”

Mr. Pitiful” by Otis Redding: “Sometimes it takes one of the greatest rock stars of all time to cover one of the greatest soul men of all time to remember that rock ’n’ roll came from rhythm and blues. Well, Mick Jagger, producer of Vinyl and famed lover of soul music, has been known to perform this Otis classic at Rolling Stones concerts. No wonder this 1965 name made it into the series.”

Suffragette City” by David Bowie: “Hearing this 1972 Bowie classic makes you wonder if New York was actually the city referenced after all. Bowie might have not been from the Big Apple, but he proved you can make music that defines the spirit of a city without calling it your home.”

DJ Cassidy attends the Live DJ Ride at Flywheel Sports on February 14, 2014 in New York City.
DJ Cassidy attends the Live DJ Ride at Flywheel Sports on February 14, 2014, in New York City.

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Want Ads” by Soda Machine: “A new soulful ensemble covered this 1971 No. 1 pop hit by Honey Cone and did it proud modern justice for Vinyl. I’ve always said good soul [music] can make you feel like December 25th as much as July 4th. This does just that.”

Kill the Lights” by DJ Cassidy, Jess Glynne & Alex Newell (with Nile Rodgers): “I want to capture the sound of the greatest dance music ever recorded with this song. I wanted to evoke the spirit and emotion of an inspiring counterculture that developed during the time of Vinyl. I wanted to bring the feeling of this special time in nightlife to kids today.”

Alright Lady (Let’s Make a Baby)” by Charlie Wilson: “Uncle Charlie steps in as the voice of Vinyl character Hannibal, for this name whose funkiness predates the sound of his signature Gap Band funk. If hip-hop were in a sampling phase, the first four bars of this record would be chopped up like a vegetable salad by every producer with a drum machine.”

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