Ten Percent (song)

In 1976, Salsoul Records released their eighth release, Walter Gibbons' remix of Double Exposure's disco song "Ten Percent"."Ten Percent" was the first commercially available 12-inch single.

The 12-inch single was reserved for DJs until the release of "Ten Percent." Disco had already begun to exploit the 12-inch's allowance for higher volumes, better sound quality, and longer playing time, but no record companies had previously seen commercial value in the new format.

Production

Ken Cayre, the head of Salsoul Records, decided to sign a number of famous musicians and bands to the label, hoping to "consolidate the success of the faceless Salsoul Orchestra", and Double Exposure was chosen as the newly signed band whose first release, "Ten Percent," would feature the orchestra and be promoted with a 12-inch single as well as the typical seven-inch format. Walter Gibbons was a DJ, not a producer, but his innovative skills, along with his punctuality and serious nature, got Gibbons the "Ten Percent" assignment at Salsoul Records. One of his original techniques was "taking two records and working them back and forth in order to extend the drum breaks," a technique he applied to the "Ten Percent" mix, which displeased the original songwriter, Allan Felder, but which was supported by Salsoul in the front-page story in which Billboard magazine covered the release. It was "mostly an exercise in stretching the original track out," and Gibbons transformed it from a "four-minute song into a nine-minute-forty-five-second-cut-and-paste roller coaster."

Double Exposure (band)

Double Exposure is an American disco era band hailing from Philadelphia, USA.

Double Exposure are James Williams, Joseph Harris, Charles Whittington and Leonard 'Butch' Davis, who were originally called 'United Image' back in the 1960s. They have been singing together since junior high school and have remained friends ever since. They recorded for the Salsoul record label.

On December 11, 1975, at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pa, Double Exposure began recording what would become one of the most successful albums ever to come out of the Philly music empire.

Their 1976 album Ten Percent featured a pair of major club hits, with the title track's remix by Walter Gibbons being the first commercially available 12-inch single.

Before signing to Salsoul, the band were known as United Image and recorded on the Stax Records label.

In 2001, a dance group called M&S used samples from Double Exposure's "Everyman" in their song called "Salsoul Nugget". Songs include "My Love Is Free".