Call Me
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Album Summary
Dropped in 1981 on the legendary Salsoul Records label out of New York City, 'Call Me' is a shining example of Skyy doing what Skyy did best — blending the sophistication of soul with the rhythmic heat of funk and just enough of that disco shimmer to keep the dance floor alive and breathing. Produced by the band's own core members, this record came out at a moment when the post-disco landscape was shifting fast, and Skyy met that moment with polish, purpose, and pure groove. Salsoul was the perfect home for it — a label that understood rhythm in its bones — and 'Call Me' fit right into that family like it was always meant to be there.
Reception
- The record made its presence known on the R&B and dance charts, cementing Skyy's reputation as a serious force in the early 1980s funk and soul world.
Significance
- Skyy captured something real and rare on this record — that smooth, meticulous funk sound that served as the living bridge between the disco era and the sleek R&B that would define the early 1980s, and 'Call Me' stands as a prime testament to that transition.
- Released on Salsoul Records, this project helped establish Skyy as essential figures in the New York-based funk and soul scene, a city and a sound that were rewriting the rules of Black American music in real time.
- The tight, layered production and sophisticated arrangements on this album reflected a band operating at the height of their craft — serious musicians making serious music for people who knew the difference.
Samples
- "Call Me" — one of Skyy's most-sampled recordings, drawn upon by hip-hop and R&B producers across multiple decades for its irresistible rhythmic foundation and soulful melodic character.
Tracklist
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A Call Me 121
3:55
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B When You Touch Me 112
3:38
Artist Details
Skyy was a funk and disco outfit that came together in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1970s, blending tight rhythmic grooves with lush horn arrangements and the silky vocals of Denise Dunning-Crawford and her brothers in a sound that was equal parts street heat and ballroom elegance. They hit their stride in the early 1980s with cuts like Call Me and Real Love, earning serious respect on the R&B and dance charts and cementing themselves as one of the unsung pillars of that post-disco funk era. Their groove-heavy style laid important groundwork for the New Jack Swing and urban dance sounds that would follow, making Skyy one of those acts that true music lovers recognize as essential even when the mainstream world wasn't always paying proper attention.
