By: Lennard James
Dr. Logan Westbrooks has long recognized that the music business can sometimes overlook great songs, and that music doesn’t just “travel” by accident. It reaches wider audiences because someone builds the infrastructure, sets the stage, and invites the world to listen. In the late 1970s, when Washington, D.C.’s go-go scene flourished in neighborhood clubs and church basements, he saw a local movement with potential to reach a broader audience—and he had the discipline and connections to help bring it from the city’s dance floors to the national stage. While there are many factors involved in such a shift, Westbrooks appeared to possess the instincts and vision to make it happen. This guided his boldest move: signing Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers to the newly formed Source Records and strategically working toward a breakout that was built on careful planning, timing, and attention to detail.
Westbrooks’ bet was not just that “Bustin’ Loose” could become a hit; he believed that a community pulse could be adapted across radio formats and retail channels without completely losing its original character. He started by creating an infrastructure that didn’t fully exist for this genre at the time. With a manufacturing and distribution arrangement through MCA/Universal, Westbrooks helped ensure that once interest in the sound sparked in any given market, the product would be available to meet it. He also secured an international connection with EMI, giving go-go music a potential global presence. For Westbrooks, distribution became an essential element in the cultural movement that was beginning to take shape.
The other part of the strategy was timing and careful planning. Releasing a record during the intense fourth-quarter music rush is something many established artists and labels avoid, as holiday albums and superstar cycles can overshadow a newcomer. However, Westbrooks seemed to recognize that this challenge could be turned into an opportunity. By leveraging the relationships he had built with programmers, retail buyers, club bookers, and television producers, he aimed to stage the single’s release in a way that would allow it to break through the noise. Airplay would be synchronized with club demand; in turn, club demand would align with retail availability; and media would help explain the cultural significance behind the beat. Rather than being a rapid, scattershot approach, it appeared to be more like a well-rehearsed orchestra, with Westbrooks conducting each section.
Once “Bustin’ Loose” began to gain traction in early 1979, the plan accelerated. Westbrooks flew the band to Los Angeles and introduced them to key tastemakers: the right venues, the right people, and the right moments where a single performance could have a significant impact on momentum. He refined the band’s appearance—sharp uniforms, coordinated stage presence—so that every public performance, image, and media appearance reinforced the same idea: this wasn’t just a fleeting moment; this was a movement. The exposure on Soul Train helped seal the band’s national introduction, and for many who hadn’t previously encountered a conga-driven pocket outside of D.C., Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers came to represent a distinctive sound, a city, and a period of time.
What distinguishes Westbrooks as a figure of influence is not that he “discovered” go-go; the city had already nurtured and developed it. Rather, Westbrooks appears to have acknowledged the origins of go-go while also advocating for it to receive recognition that matched its cultural vitality. He packaged the authenticity of the sound without trying to sanitize or mainstream it, demonstrating that regional Black music doesn’t necessarily need translation to be appreciated, only the right placement and presentation to be seen. The results suggested that his approach had a positive effect: radio airplay expanded, retail sales surged, and demand appeared in cities where the band had never performed. Source Records, though still young, successfully navigated this growth with a professionalism that seemed rare for a fledgling label, largely because Westbrooks had spent years building trust and credibility with his business partners.
By leading with “Bustin’ Loose,” Westbrooks did more than just launch a label; he offered a potential blueprint for moving culture while maintaining its roots. He didn’t wait for major labels to validate the sound; he created a mechanism for that validation through distribution at MCA/Universal, international promotion via EMI, and a media strategy that helped listeners better understand what D.C. had already known. His method of distributing, promoting, and explaining the sound appeared to play a key role in the success of both Source Records and the broader go-go movement. The success of Source Records wasn’t purely accidental, just as the endurance of go-go was not the result of mere luck. Both were likely the result of a strategy that combined thoughtful planning with respect for the culture. Westbrooks’ vision for Black creators, as demonstrated in the story of Source Records, was one where discovery was not enough—they also deserved infrastructure, a narrative, and the potential for scale. In the context of late-’70s Black music, few figures can be seen as being as deliberate or as influential in transforming a local sound into a national rhythm as Dr. Logan Westbrooks.
