The group was part of the "Brooklyn sound" of the early 1970s, formed from three players of the group King Davis House Rockers. The House Rockers were a local dance band who had released a couple of obscure singles (1967's "We All Make Mistakes Sometimes" on Verve Records, 1972's "Rum Punch") The three players (guitarist Richard Thompson, tenor sax player Bill Risbrook, and alto sax player Carlos Ward) formed Madison Street Express along with bassist Louis Risbrook (later Muslim-monickered Jamal Rasool), percussionist Dennis Rowe, drummer Terrell Wood, and vocalist Barbara Wood. They along with producer Jeff Lane signed with production company Roadshow Records to record writer Billy Nichols "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)." The record was shopped around to major labels until it was accepted at Scepter Records. Scepter suggested the group change its name from Madison Street Express, hence the Brooklyn Transit Express. The single was released in August 1974, and reached the top 10. Lane took the group back into the studios at that point to record a second single and pitch a full album to the label. Scepter agreed to the LP and to Roadshow Records having its own label within Scepter Records.
The first two singles were hits, both number 1 R&B releases and both Top 5 pop singles in the US. The album hit number 1 on the R&B album chart and number 5 on the Pop album chart of the US. These recordings were also hits in the spreading disco culture, "Do It" peaking on club playlists before Billboard started a separate disco chart, but the follow-up single sat for five weeks at number 1. They were certified gold releases.
BT Express released an album per year through 1978. With the third album, Leslie Ming was brought in as drummer and keyboardist Michael Jones was added as keyboardist. Jamal, who had converted to the Muslim faith, gave Jones the name Kashif Saleem, which he used after departing the group, in 1979, to pursue producing ("Mighty M Productions" with Morrie Brown and Paul Laurence Jones) and solo recording ventures. That year songwriter Billy Nichols and drummer Leslie Ming also departed the group. In 1976 Scepter records was experiencing business difficulties that soon ended the company, and BT Express was given a distribution deal with Columbia Records, which, though it gave them greater exposure, resulted in less attention being paid to their production, since they had so many acts to concentrate on. The group did not achieve the level of radio or sales success on Columbia that they had on the more nurturing but by-then defunct Scepter. They stayed with Columbia for five years, with Lane producing through 1978, then Nichols producing their fifth album before he departed for solo work, and Morrie Brown producing the sixth LP and several follow-up tracks. The group switched labels to Coast To Coast Records for the 1982 LP, to Earthtone Records for a later 1982 single, and to manager King Davis' own label in 1985.
Peace Pipe
B.T. Express Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Yeah) smoke it on up (what say)
Put it in your peace pipe
(Everybody get some)
Smoke it on up
(Everybody get a little)
Put it in your peace pipe (peace)
And pass it around
Put in some love
And some understanding
Add a little humanity
Put in some faith
Wonderful kindness
Light it up and pass it to me
Put it in your peace pipe (yeah)
Smoke it on up (what you say)
Put it in your peace pipe
Smoke it on up
(Everybody get a little)
Put it in your peace pipe
(What you say) smoke it on up
Maybe some truth
Will start the passion
Add a spoon of brotherly love
Then form a line for all mankind
And pass it right around the world
Smoke it, smoke it
Smoke it, smoke it
Smoke it, smoke it
Smoke it, smoke it
Smoke it, smoke it
Put it in your peace pipe (yeah)
Smoke it on up (what you say)
Put it in your peace pipe
(Have a little understanding)
Smoke it on up (yeah)
Put it in your peace pipe
(Peace) and pass it around
Put it in your peace pipe
(All the world?)
(Europe) smoke it on up
(Africa) put it in your peace pipe
(Asia) smoke it on up
(Germany) put it in your peace pipe
Smoke it on up (and pass it around)
Put it in your peace pipe
(Add a little bit)
Smoke it on up (peace)
Put it in your peace pipe
And pass it around
The song "Peace Pipe" by B.T. Express is a call for unity, love, and understanding among people around the world. The "peace pipe" symbolizes a powerful tool that can be used to bring people together to smoke, share, and communicate. At the beginning of the song, the lyrics ask the listeners to "put it in your peace pipe" and "smoke it on up". This can be seen as an invitation for everyone to be open-minded, to set aside their differences and to join in a common goal of peace and harmony.
As the song progresses, the lyrics add different elements that are needed to make this unity possible. The invitation is for people to put in "some love and understanding", "a little humanity", "some faith", and "wonderful kindness". The idea is that by adding these ingredients, the peace pipe will be able to create a strong bond between people, and that this bond will be the foundation for a better world. The song ends with the line "put it in your peace pipe and pass it around", which means that everyone should take part in this effort to create peace, and that everyone should share the peace pipe with others.
Overall, "Peace Pipe" by B.T. Express is a powerful song that encourages people to come together and work towards a shared goal of love, unity, and understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
Put it in your peace pipe
Take all the positive qualities like love, kindness, and humanity and put them together to smoke in a peace pipe.
(Yeah) smoke it on up (what say)
Take a drag of the peace pipe and enjoy the feeling of calmness and unity.
Everybody get some
Everyone should partake in this act of smoking the peace pipe.
(Everybody get a little)
Everyone should experience a bit of peace and togetherness this creates.
(peace)
This peace pipe is intended to bring peace among all people.
And pass it around
Share the peace and positivity it brings by passing the peace pipe to others.
Put in some love
Include the quality of love in the peace pipe.
And some understanding
Add the element of understanding to the mix.
Add a little humanity
Include the broad concept of humanity and all the great qualities it brings.
Put in some faith
Add the quality of having faith in something greater than oneself.
Wonderful kindness
Include the quality of being kind to others.
Light it up and pass it to me
Ignite the peace pipe and give it to me so I can experience it too.
Maybe some truth
Include the quality of truthfulness in the peace pipe.
Will start the passion
Possibly the truth element will make us passionate about making the world a better place.
Add a spoon of brotherly love
Include the love we have for our fellow human beings.
Then form a line for all mankind
Stand in line, all people of the world, to experience the peace and harmony this peace pipe creates.
And pass it right around the world
Share this peace and positivity with everyone in the world.
(yeah)
An expression of enthusiasm.
(what you say)
Asking for confirmation.
(Have a little understanding)
Requests for people to have sympathy and respect for those around them.
(peace)
The theme of the peace pipe, to bring peace and harmony to the world.
(All the world?)
Asking if everyone in the world can join in the experience.
(Europe)
A way of mentioning Europe along with other countries and continents.
(Africa)
A way of mentioning Africa along with other countries and continents.
(Asia)
A way of mentioning Asia along with other countries and continents.
(Germany)
A way of mentioning Germany along with other countries and continents.
(and pass it around)
A reminder to everyone to pass on the peace pipe and share in the positivity it generates.
(Add a little bit)
A suggestion to add a little something extra to the peace pipe to make it even better.
Contributed by Violet V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.