Do the Cocomotion: Cherry Red, Robinsongs Bring El Coco's Disco Floor-Fillers to CD on New Collection

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C'mon, baby, do the Cocomotion! On February 21, Cherry Red's Robinsongs label will unveil a new 4-albums-on-2-CD collection from disco outfit El Coco. The deluxe 2-CD set presents Brazil (1975), Mondo Disco (1975), Let's Get It Together (1976), and Cocomotion (1977) along with three bonus tracks; all albums except Let's Get It Together are making their CD debuts, with Let's Get It Together only briefly available on CD 20 years ago in Japan.

El Coco was the brainchild of Laurin Rinder and W. Michael Lewis. The production duo had spent an evening at West Hollywood's Studio One and found themselves mesmerized by the sounds of Barry White and Motown. They quickly decided that they could recreate those sounds themselves, and entered the studio shortly thereafter to prove it. The result was "Let's Get It Together," mostly played by the duo: Rinder on drums and percussion; and Lewis on synthesizer, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, and saxophone. Session veteran Harry Kim and Canadian jazz musician Doug Richardson came in to add horns, and John Hunt supplied electric guitar. Merria Ross, the song's writer, and session singers Pat Powdrill, Marsha Thacker, and Adrienne Williams (sometimes known as Adrinne) contributed the repeated vocal refrain. The recording became the third single credited to El Coco, said to be a winking reference to a popular powder. Soon, the track became a top ten Disco hit on the U.S. Billboard chart, and also crossed over to Pop (# 61) and R&B (# 54). As El Coco, Rinder and Lewis ultimately released eight LPs on the AVI Records label through 1982, all capturing the throbbing, immediate sound of the disco era. (The duo also recorded, with varying degrees of success, under such varied names as Le Pamplemousse, Tuxedo Junction, Saint Tropez, Cheetah, Discognosis, and The RinLew All-Stars.) The first four of those albums, originally issued between 1975 and 1977, comprise Robinsongs' collection.

Though El Coco employed some of the trappings of mainstream disco, including plush strings and soulful background vocals, their somewhat more underground sound for a relatively small label was anchored in funky rhythms and jazz-flavored keyboards that set them apart and proved ripe for sampling decades later. Their style was often leaner than that of contemporaries such as The Salsoul Orchestra or The Love Unlimited Orchestra. In addition to original songs (such as the punningly-titled crossover hit "Cocomotion" and "Count of Monte Disco") penned by Rinder/Lewis and others in their stable of songwriters, El Coco brought a dancefloor spin to such standards and favorites as Duke Ellington's "Caravan," Henry Mancini's "Mr. Lucky," Ary Barroso's "Brazil," Les Baxter's "Brazil," and even Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Yakety Yak."

The four original albums here are supplemented by the extended 12-inch versions of "Let's Get It Together" and "Fait Le Chat (Do the Cat)" as well as the 1979 remix of "Cocomotion" as reworked by AVI's Rick Gianatos. The 12-page full-color booklet has new liner notes by TSD's Joe Marchese chronicling the story of El Coco and the Rinder-Lewis musical partnership. Oli Hemingway has newly mastered all audio. Look for this first-ever comprehensive collection of El Coco's first four albums on February 21 from Robinsongs! You'll find the track listing and pre-order links below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

El Coco, Brazil/Mondo Disco/Let's Get It Together/Cocomotion (Robinsongs/Cherry Red ROBIN77CDD, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

Brazil (AVI LP 1040, 1975)