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I was gonna write about Ann Arbor 80s rock band The Urbations and their song off the Cruisin’ Ann Arbor comp “Surfboard Baby” this week, but I felt this was more appropriate to follow after the Cybotron post.

I’ve hyped this previously, so the more careful reader will already be hip to this track, but I thought I’d start an official thread for Mr. John Ford.

Let me start by saying that Lee Osler’s Back to Ypsilanti has an irreplaceable place in my music heart. Is it even possible that another artist from Ypsilanti, from the same era as Lee Osler, to lay claim to having the best track (of all time and genre) to come out of Ypsilanti? I’m not sure. All I know is, John Ford’s 1984 dance funk boogie masterpiece “Just Wanna Dance” on Ypsilanti’s Re-Leece record label comes damn close. Maybe even too close to call.

How can I even start with this song? I would say that it’s the find I’m most proud of, right up there with “Back to Ypsilanti”, the Pathway label, or the Ann Arbor Sun collection as far as off-the-radar ultra-local stuff goes. The thing is, I find and collect all kinds of obscure, local records from Michigan, but more specifically Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. I have a whole section in my own personal collection dedicated to local stuff. A lot of it has been discovered already. But I don’t think many people know about this.

When Cousins Vinyl did our last record show at Corner Brewery, the regulars showed up right away who had dug our last show with Dannyboy. I knew what they were looking for, and had stocked the boxes with plenty of good funk and soul sample records. I pulled a few aside, the ones I knew who would really appreciate it, and said, “Do you want to hear a crazy track out of Ypsi from ‘84?” Of course, they said, as they threw on the headphones. Where the hell did you find that? was the most common response I got after they listened.

The thing was, we had found it once before. I never noticed it come in, and Justin listed it before telling me, knowing I would snatch it up before it went to auction (God bless Cousin Justin - without our checks and balances Cousins would not be what it is). He sent me a text as I was driving back from up north, and I was kinda pissed. Anyway, it sold for a good amount to somebody in France. I figured it went to a good home, but I couldn’t get the song out of my head. Justin had done a post about the listing and had included the audio, and I kept going back to it and listening to it, thinking about how much I wish we hadn’t sold it.

Then one day, I got a call about a pretty standard rock collection. It was in the summer, so I was in the shop with Justin. The lady brought in the collection - we went out to look at it in the back of her truck outside our shop - it was nothing special, but OK, until I saw my copy of “Just Wanna Dance”. There it was, a mint copy, seemingly unplayed, completely out of place amongst 60s rock, folk, and pop. It was even signed by John Ford himself. (I later learned John Ford and this woman used to work together at a nearby Ford plant). I could hardly contain myself. Saying nothing about the John Ford record, I completely overpaid for the collection. Justin walked away shaking his head, semi-pissed by how much I paid. I immediately struck a draft deal with Justin, giving up the moon to be able to take my copy home.

Since then, not only has it gotten an amazing amount of play for a local record in my collection, it has probably been one of the top-five most played records in my basement. The reason? It’s a straight up killer dance record, and I’ve always had good dance parties down here in my basement in Ypsilanti, most recently with my wife and daughter on Friday nights rather than my rowdy friends back in the day (don’t worry rowdy friends, those days will return sometime). My 2 year old daughter likes it so much she requests it as a going-to-bed song. I say, Ella, honey, that’s a dance song, not a night-night song.

The hook is infectious. The refrain is simple but brilliant, I just wan-to, dance with you. And the bass? The hand-claps? The breaks? Oh, no. Can it get any funkier? Can it be any more authentic? With you baby, I can dance…all night. I’m dancing in my Ypsilanti basement. Is that for sale, I was asked? Not this copy, but maybe next time.

In any event, I bring to you…Ypsilanti’s own, and one and only….John Ford!!!!!!!!!

Listen to John Ford, “Just Wanna Dance” on Re-Leece

*Note: John Ford, like Lee Osler, still lives in Ypsilanti and continutes to produce good music. Go here to check out the John Ford Band’s page on myspace.