The Great Performances: Dazz Band – “Let It All Blow”

A lot of “scholars” will try and tell you that civilization is yet to hit its peak, but after you have watched this music video you will realize that they are all very wrong, very stupid liars.

Over the next four minutes, you will bear witness to the highwater mark of human creativity. This is not some academic hypothesis, it is an immutable truth.

So, hotshot, let me ask you this – are you ready for some high-level shit? If the answer is “no” then please leave the room now and go figure yourself out because I’m about to dim the lights and lock the doors so the rest of the class can have their lives changed.

0:01 We open with legendary football coach Marty Schottenheimer delivering a sideline pep talk. Sadly, he died on my birthday in 2021. I had nothing to do with his passing but it’s a coincidence I couldn’t help but notice.

0:04 Jim McMahon – Chicago Bears QB, headband aficionado, wild-child of the 80s American jock scene – drops back and fires a pass downfield. McMahon played college ball at BYU, the same school where my brother now does play-by-play for football. Not even 5 seconds in and the coincidences are piling up!

0:08 BOOM! Football, receiver, and defensive back meet at the same instant, punctuated by an all-mighty kick drum/synth horn stab combo that hits harder than the aforementioned defensive back! TIME TO LET IT ALL BLOW, MOTHERF@#KERS!

0:09 We get a rapid-fire montage of football footage seemingly ripped straight from NFL Films productions. Sure, it works; there’s colour, action, impact. But how did the Dazz Band get clearance to use NFL footage? Hasn’t the NFL always been a big, dumb, behemoth of American sports culture that jealously guarded its product? What did the guys in the Dazz Band have on then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle? I’ll give you a minute to let your imagination run wild…

0:16 A gorgeous airborne shot of jet-skis slicing through the water, moody synths setting the…uh, mood as the electronic snare increases in volume. It’s all very Miami Vice. In fact, this song was released at pretty much the same time as Miami Vice made its first appearance on our TV screens. Coincidence? There’s no such thing anymore!!! Anyways, I’m getting hyped! Are you getting hyped? Because I’m getting HYPED!

0:19 Baseball, soccer, hockey, diving, basketball, gymnastics, and cheerleaders in quick succession. A strong sports theme has been established. They even sneak in D-A-Z-Z on a scoreboard! Whoever edited this video is making cuts to the beat, and we all know that those are the best, most satisfying cuts. Make no mistake, they’re letting you know early on that this is going to be a perfect music video.

0:29 We see the hands of keyboardist Steve Cox playing the simple, iconic riff that carries this song. And there’s the face of another Dazz ivory tickler, Keith Harrison, rhythmically nodding to the camera. He’s got the look that says “Yeah, you know it.” As in, you know it’s good. And he knows it’s good. And he knows you know it’s good. This is all good.

0:33 There was an era in funk music (let’s go ahead and call it the Golden Era) when every band had way too many members. And while acts like Cameo and Earth, Wind & Fire regularly hit double digits in the band member department I would say the mandated minimum was about 7. In this Golden Era, you’d have a baker’s-half-dozen or more dudes on stage in eye-catching costumes, playing any number of instruments, and they would blow your wig back for 90-120 minutes of sweaty, freaktastic magic. The garish amount of personnel wasn’t strictly necessary for their sound, but it was essential for their synchronised dancing.

On that note, we are introduced to all 8 Dazz Banders, coming at us with a tongue-in-cheek march with finger snap to the beat! And 8 is a very respectable number, but the band photo on the cover of this single (Motown, 1984) shows 9 guys. So, who got dropped and why? Perhaps they were forced to trade one band member to the NFL in exchange for the football footage?

0:37 In case you forgot which decade this video is from – windsurfing! So, if you’re counting at home (and of course, you should be) that’s 10 sports/pastimes we’ve seen so far.

0:43 Everyone in white canvas lace-ups. Again, this is strong synchronisation. So strong that thousands of miles away, the dudes from Ladysmith Black Mambazo took one look and said “YES! And with the help of miniature New York acoustic troubadour Paul Simon, we will spread the gospel of group stepping in matching white canvas lace-ups across the globe!” Or so I assume.

0:47-0:57 Somersaulting football cuts to funky robot walk entrance cuts back somersaulting football which cuts effortlessly to somersaulting diver!!!

I’ll ask you one last time before we continue – are you ready for some high-level shit? 

0:58 Our first vocals. An understated and seductive “HEAVE HO. HEAVE HO. LET IT ALL…BLOW.” Is it a verse? A chant? A mantra? All I know is that when combined with a charmingly executed four-man reach and thrust, it’s magic. I am already 100% on board with letting it all blow. 

Note: The Dazz Band had an earlier hit called “Let It Whip”. So, if you’re keeping track at home (and of course, you should be) that’s not one, but TWO Dazz Band bangers that start with “Let It…”.

1:06-1:34 Greco-Roman wrasslin’! Handclaps! Soccer kids! Hi-hats! Dirt bikes ripping across mammoth sand dunes! Jogging to the beat! 

The slinky strength of an electro-funk supersong is underpinned by a series of shots showing fun people doing amazing stuff. The recipe is so simple yet so goddamn effective. DON’T OVERTHINK IT!

1:35 – Toes playing the keyboard? Sure, your life is being forever changed as you watch this but we can still have a wacky good time, people!

1:39 Faceless rando vaulting a stone in a public park. Visual interest + relatability. Add it to the running total of sports/pastimes!

1:50 You know who enjoys being in the Dazz Band? Every single member of the Dazz Band!

2:02 Cycling road rash. I hate this and watching it is making my skin crawl. But I know the Dazz Band is telling me that in life one must take the rough with the smooth, so I support this shot. 

2:09 Did you think we weren’t going to see lady wrestling action? Well, if you still thought that by this point of the video, I’m sorry but you’re an idiot! #sorrynotsorry

2:21 You wanna talk about the value of restraint? They make us wait almost TWO AND A HALF MINUTES before we are given the precious gift of this insanely smooth chorus.

“Let it allll blow. Down, down, down, down, down.”

Too gorgeous! It tingles the spine and cleanses the soul. By taking us down they are taking us higher and deeper. I don’t know about you but I think I just let it all blow. 

Keith Harrison said in an interview that band founder Bobby Harris came up with the lyrics (such as they are) but could never really explain what the hell it meant to “let it all blow”. This is such a potent audiovisual package that I could care less what it means, but I know I love how it feels.

2:36 A pair of triple jump stomps from our Dazz Banders and they walk off like what we just heard was no big deal. Like they didn’t just change everything forever. We’re back into the song’s main section and there’s lovely slo-mo footage of a bronze surf god but I’m still too stunned to notice it. 

2:50 The band in a line, moving as one with a very simple right arm/right leg back and forth synced with a head turn. The rudimentary choreography makes me wonder. Was this by choice? Or did one member of the band suck at dancing so they had to foolproof things by keeping it nice and easy when all were involved? If that’s the case then god love the rest of the band for making sure the sucky dancer was included anyways. That’s the model for an inclusive and productive society that we’d all be happy to live in.

3:09 Poetry. We are the cowboy, trying with all our strength to stay atop the majestic bucking steed that is this song…nay, that is life itself! 

3:11 Hang gliders signal the return of the majestic chorus. I am letting it blow like crazy as I soar over the sonic landscape like a winged deity. Hallelujah and amen!

3:21 We move across the lineup of band member faces singing, but wait…one of them is UPSIDE DOWN! What a move! As if to say “Sure, this music video is a veritable Rosetta Stone for good living but we’re just having FUN with it. Hey, no big whoop.” Unbelievable mastery.

3:25 These guys are having a great time being themselves, being with each other. And why not? They look great, they sound great, you know they feel great. Can we all live like this? Shouldn’t we replace the entire self-help industry with this video?

3:33 Ebony and ebony on ebony and ivory. Meta and effective. 

3:36 Gymnast Peter Vidmar sticks the landing in time with the whipcrack hand clap. Vidmar was born in Los Angeles on June 3, 1961, is 5’5” tall and weighs 132 lbs, and attended UCLA. He won a gold medal in the pommel horse at the ‘84 Olympics, was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall Of Fame in 1998, is a Mormon, and most definitely has a Wikipedia page.

3:45 They’re taking us out the same way we came in, the moody synths, the insistent beat, the slowly rising snare…

3:57 Teeny rhythmic gymnasts, bringing our tally of sports/pastimes to a whopping 27! 

Football

Jet Skiing

Baseball

Soccer

Hockey

Basketball

Diving

Gymnastics

Cheerleading

Windsurfing

Kid’s Soccer

Dirt Bikes

Jogging

Greco-Roman Wrestling

Vaulting over a rock in a public park

Lady Pro Wrestling

Cycling

BASE Jumping

Surfing

Chariot Racing

Frisbee Dogs!

Skateboarding

Rodeo

Hang Gliding

Parachuting

Jogging against tons of other people

Teeny rhythmic gymnastics

4:03 After all that it ends with a dropped baton to spiral wipe to shot of the band against a white background. An incongruous piano slide and comedic bass drum are the surprising final notes of the song, leaving us drained and satisfied yet somewhat puzzled. I mean, they had a gymnast STICKING THE LANDING with a whip crack hand clap. Surely that would’ve been a better finish?

Yet if we stop being stupid selfish babies and reflect on it for a moment we realize that ending would’ve been too obvious, too perfect. Naturally, it brings to mind the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which speaks to the beauty found in imperfection. And if the Dazz Band are trying to teach us anything it is this – when all of it will be blown, to let such a blowing happen is a good thing. Or maybe – in life it all must in the end become blown, and most wise is the one who lets it. No wait, it’s more like this – on the path to enlightenment, one cannot let it blow unless one can let it all blow. Whatever…you get it.

Our final image is of the Dazz Band, having definitely let it all blow, standing stone-faced and united, their gazes fixed straight ahead, presumably looking toward a future when humankind will have come together to elevate our existence using the blueprint laid out in this music video.

Oh, how we have let them, and ourselves, down. Down, down, down, down, down.