'Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll' and 'Break 4 Love' creator Vaughan Mason dies aged 69

The New York-native penned the definitive roller disco hit, “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll,” in 1979 after reading a Wall Street Journal article on the skate craze. The tune would go onto reach #38 on the Billboard Disco Top 100 chart and led to opening slots for Prince and Rick James for Mason’s band, Vaughan Mason & Crew. It would also go on to be sampled by Daft Punk and The Avalanches.

His 1983 LP, Vaughan Mason & Butch Dayo’s Feel My Love—released on Salsoul Records—would go on to be a coveted cult classic. Mason’s group Raze also had a lasting impact on house music. The group’s early single, “Jack The Groove,” became a hit in the UK, while 1988’s “Break 4 Love” reached number one on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart and would appear on the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

So far, the death is not known to be related to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Shiela Ford, a longtime friend of Mason’s broke the news of his passing via Facebook.

An Instagram post from last month shows Mason behind the board at Baltimore’s Dream 1st Studios.

Listen to Vaughan Mason & Butch Dayo’s “Feel My Love.”