Homegrown Syndrome: the forgotten brilliance of a cult disco outfit
By the end of the 1970s, disco was unavoidable. Its infectious grooves and beating rhythm had emerged from the nightclubs of New York City and captured the imaginations of global audiences, but its success did not arrive out of the blue. Disco was born from a gradual blending of different styles, namely soul, gospel, and R&B music, which dominated the 1960s thanks, in part, to artists like Ike Turner.
Turner had been devoted to music since his teenage years in the 1940s, performing with a host of different groups throughout the following decade, namely local blues, rock, and R&B outfits in Mississippi. However, it was not until 1960 that his name became known the world over, thanks to the incredible quality of his work with Tina Turner, whom he married in 1962. Of course, the vast majority of the duo’s quality was down to the otherworldly brilliance of Tina Turner’s vocal abilities, but the duo nevertheless made a star of Ike Turner, too.
Ike and Tina Turner divorced in 1978, and revalations about Ike’s abusive nature surfaced soon thereafter. In the wake of his seperation with his wife and musical partner, however, Turner was determined to explore new avenues of musical inspiration. Namely, the musician grew a deep appreciation for the blossoming world of disco music, which soon led him to discover the Memphis disco outfit Homegrown Syndrome.
Originally going by Home Grown Funk, the band was led by Jerry Jones and in 1977, the Tennessee outfit relocated to the West Coast in search of stardom. There, in California, the band crossed paths with Ike Turner. After impressing the established musician with their knack for crafting infectiously funky anthems, Homegrown Syndrome were invited along to Turner’s Inglewood studio. The story goes that Jones began singing along to a funk track in the studio, leading Turner to exclaim, “You big motherfucker! You could be my new Tina.”
Although, despite his admitted quality as a vocalist, Jones never came close to rivalling Tina Turner, Homegrown Syndrome nevertheless became Ike Turner’s backing band for the next three years. During that time, the Memphis group toured, performed, and recorded extensively with Turner, most notably appearing on his 1981 record The Edge, which achieved a modest chart success with the single ‘Party Vibes’.
It goes without saying that The Edge wasn’t a groundbreaking album – as reflected by the fact that you likely hadn’t heard of the record until reading that last paragraph. Collaborating with Ike Turner might have given Homegrown Syndrome some notoriety within the realm of disco, but their greatest work came when they moved away from Turner’s grasp.
Throughout their existence, Homegrown Syndrome only managed to release one standalone single: 1981’s ‘Confrontation’. Released via Arista Records, the song is a perfect disco anthem, blending a compelling groove and captivating instrumentation with a strong message of defiance and individuality. Not only did the song capture the zeitgeist of the disco age, it also reflected the power of Homegrown Syndrome in escaping the shadow of Ike Turner.
Despite its undeniable brilliance, ‘Confrontation’ failed to gain much traction in the musical mainstream. Shortly after its release, the band reverted to its original incarnation of Home Grown Funk, whose only subsequent release was the 1984 single ‘Lean on Me’ by Tina Turner featuring Ike. Jerry Jones later embarked on a solo career, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Homegrown Syndrome, in the grand scheme of things, was a complicated and short-lived outfit whose career was largely defined by Ike Turner. However, their sheer quality of ‘Confrontation’, along with recently uncovered tracks like ‘Got The Love’ released by Athens of the North in 2022, has been incredibly enduring. The track captured the peak of disco fever, but its groove is still compelling over four decades later.
