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7" VINLY NOW
RELEASED DATE: 15th FEB 2026
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Originally recorded in the peak of the roller-disco era (circa 1979–80),

"Roll a Skate" combines soulful vocal performance, raw groove, and authentic musicianship from a cast of scene-defining players:

 

Lead Vocal: Gina Lewis

Paris Ford: Bass & backing vocals

Drums: Pumpkin (RIP)

Guitar: Ron “The Pac Man” Pacaud

Piano: Lionel “Cream” Henderson

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Paris Ford Bass Player Musician In the earliest years of New York’s post-disco era  when roller skating rinks were packed to the rafters and dance floors were alive with funk, R&B, and early electro grooves  a young artist named  Paris Ford laid down a recording that would quietly endure for decades.

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Roll a Skate was supposed to be release on Streetwise Records, the influential New York dance label founded by producer and DJ Arthur Baker

home to seminal club classics and cutting-edge dance sounds of the early ’80s.

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Only few month ago, Paris Ford, the artist has uncovered the original 2-inch, 24-track master reel of that recording  the very masters from which Streetwise pressed its vinyl  rediscovered after nearly 40 years.

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Listening back, even Arthur Baker reflected that if he’d heard what Ford had captured back then, he would have released it as a second single a testament to the timeless energy and feel of the recording.

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Paris Ford

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Paris Ford Paris Ford (born and raised in New York) emerged from the vibrant musical crosscurrents of the late ’70s and early ’80s, when disco, funk, R&B, and early dance music were pushing clubs and culture forward.  

At the time now Defunk Streetwise Records was one of New York’s most adventurous independent labels, releasing records by artists ranging from Eartha Kitt to New Edition and helping spearhead the post-disco dance movement.

Though the follow-up track “Keep Dancin’” was not released at the time, Ford revisited these recordings decades later, inviting Baker himself to hear the unreleased material. Baker noted that had he heard it in the early ’80s, he likely would have chosen it for the label’s next release.

Over the years, Paris Ford built a career as a musician, songwriter, and session player, blending the deep grooves of funk with R&B and early dance sensibilities. His rediscovery and digital restoration of these master tapes connect his foundational work back to the era that shaped it, now preserved on Epsilon Records for global audiences.

Paris Ford’s journey — from his roots in the Bronx music scene, through early releases on an influential independent dance label, to his re-emergence as an elder statesman of groove — is a story of enduring talent, rediscovery, and the power of timeless music.