Funky16Corners

We've Moved!

2006-06-30T11:52:00.000-04:00

That's right, kids. The much anticipated relocation of the Funky16Corners blog is at last complete. The new address is (if you haven't already reset your bookmarks) http://funky16corners.wordpress.com Henceforth, all new blog entries will be at that location, and all archived posts have been moved there as well. I hope to see you there. Larry PS The regularly scheduled Friday post will be up in that space shortly.

Bill Withers - Harlem

2006-06-28T10:57:00.000-04:00

Mr. Bill Withers

Greetings.

First off, we're still MOVING. The switch over to the Wordpress version of the Funky16Corners blog is underway, and will soon be final . This version will remain up as a repository and forwarding site, but the Blogger tool has become progressively more unreliable, and I've tired of dealing with is. Please adjust your links/bookmarks accordingly to point to http://funky16corners.wordpress.com

See you there... Larry

Good day to you..... Here we are, at the regular Wednesday get together. The grey weather continues unabated, but since we in NJ have been spared the worst of this seemingly endless storm – which has caused all kinds of flooding and property damage between Philadelphia and the Carolinas – I can’t really complain. As long as it’s warm – and it is – it’s still summer to me, and I’ll take it. Today’s selection is one of those records that I’ve carped about before, i.e. a song that I genuinely love (as are all of the tunes I post here), but one that escapes easy categorization, and thus description. This may or may not be a moot point. As I post an MP3 of each and every song I write about, it is possible for the listener/reader to download/play and listen to the tracks and describe it for themselves. However... That’s not really the sole purpose of this little electronic Mom & Pop operation I have going here. What I strive to do (though strive may be, on some days, too strong a word) is present little slices of excellent music, wrapped in a little bit of context/perspective, a lot of enthusiasm, strained through my own stew of opinions. The end result is – I hope – that the readers are exposed to some excellent music that either they haven’t heard before, or are hearing in a new way, and that they learn something new about that particular piece of music’s place in the grand scheme of things. I try to maintain a balance between playing to the connoisseurs in the crowd, and to those who are by and large unfamiliar with much of the music posted here. On that note, despite the fact that today’s selection resides on the b-side of a substantial hit record, I hadn’t heard it before a few months ago. I have my fellow posters over at Soulstrut to thank for hepping me to the excellence of Bill Withers first LP, 1971’s ‘Just As I Am’. While I (and everyone else with access to a radio) knew and loved ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, and had picked up a couple of Withers’ 45s when they came out in the 70’s, I had never owned, or heard a copy of his first LP. While browsing the racks at my local book and music mega-mondo-mart, I saw that ‘Just As I Am’ had been reissued in an excellent new package that included the entire album, and when you flipped the CD over it was also a DVD with a mini-documentary about Withers and the entire album again, in surround-sound, so I grabbed it. I’m here to tell you that if you haven’t gotten a copy of this album, you should do so now. Withers, who was recording demos and laboring installing airplane toilets when he was finally signed to Sussex, is if not unique, a truly unusual talent. His style combined the basic singer/songwriter structure that was the lingua franca in 1971, with pure, deep soul. He was an outstanding songwriter, and his performances, often with an acoustic guitar, carried with them an intimacy that made his songs even more powerful. When I hear ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, the first thing I think of is a feeling, i.e. melancholy, before I even begin to consider the elements of the actual record. That’s deep. That ability to transmit emotion in his songs carries throughout the entire ‘Just As I Am’ album, from his powerful originals like ‘Grandma’s Hands’, ‘Hope She’ll Be Happier” and the loose and funky ‘Do It Good’, and creative reworkings of Fred Neil’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ and the Beatles ‘Let It Be’. The tune that grabbed me the most when I listened to the album for the first time was ‘Harlem’. Opening with Withers’ guitar and then a wave of strings, the momentum of the song builds gradually. The lyrics, painting a picture of life in Harlem, are excellent, and as their intensity builds, so do the vocals, working into a powerful statement. It’s really interesting that they chose to make ‘Harlem’ the flip side of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, because the two recordings form a kind of stylistic yin/yang, balancing the quiet pleading of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ with the forceful ‘Harlem’. The production by Booker T. Jones (he of the MGs) is outstanding, and the record manages to build in its mere three and a half minute span into a kind of mini epic. It’s the kind of record that in combination with a very solid track record as a hitmaker, ought to spur on a reconsideration of Withers as a major artist. As I said before, ‘Harlem’ was the flipside of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, so a little garage-sale-ing, and 25 cents ought to be enough to secure your very own copy of this gem. If your interest is a little bit deeper, you can always grab ‘Lean On Me – Best of Bill Withers’ which includes not only ‘Harlem’ but all of his big hits. I would suggest grabbing the ‘Just As I Am’ CD, if only to hear the album in its entirety. It’s just that good.

Brenda Holloway - You've Made Me So Very Happy

2006-06-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

Miss Brenda Hollway

Greetings. First off, we're still MOVING. The switch over to the Wordpress version of the Funky16Corners blog is underway, and will soon be final . This version will remain up as a repository and forwarding site, but the Blogger tool has become progressively more unreliable, and I've tired of dealing with is. Please adjust your links/bookmarks accordingly to point to http://funky16corners.wordpress.com See you there... Larry

Greetings all. Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Once again, allow me to apologize for the absence of the regularly scheduled Friday post. My lovely wife – who happens to be 8 months pregnant – had to go to the hospital on Thursday – which kept me occupied all of Thursday night and most of Friday. Fortunately she and the baby are both doing fine and remain on track for an early-August delivery (phew...). If you notice a sudden interruption in new blog posts around that time, you can safely assume that we are otherwise (happily) occupied with a new little soul fan. Today’s post begins with a little bit of time travel. It’s the summer of 1969, and I am 7 years old. My family has taken a vacation drive to Dayton, Ohio to visit my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. A decision has been made that I will remain in the mysterious Midwest for a few weeks and will be catching a ride back to New Jersey when the Ohio branch of the Grogan clan treks east for a visit. If memory serves, I was pleased by this development. I enjoyed spending time with my cousins, many of whom were older than me. My late cousin Pat was a teenager who worked at a Kentucky Fried Chicken, which then struck me as the coolest job imaginable (I’m not positive, but at the time I may very well have thought that Colonel Sanders was actually running the restaurant in question). I had a lot of fun out in Ohio that summer, but the lasting impact of the visit is that by virtue of being around teenagers, 1969 was the year that I first made my first, solid connection to the radio, vis a vis contemporary pop music. I remember a clear grouping of songs that seemed to be getting a lot of play on the radio that summer, including ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion’ by Tommy James & The Shondells, ‘My Cherie Amour’ by Stevie Wonder, and ‘You’ve Made Me So Very Happy’ by Blood Sweat and Tears. I always loved the Blood Sweat and Tears tune, but it wasn’t until years later that I realized that it was in fact a cover. By the time I finally heard the original version (maybe 15 years ago), I was surprised to find out that it had been recorded by an artist that I already knew, Brenda Holloway. In the late 80’s, Motown already had a miserable reputation for the reissue packaging of their classic material (a situation that I’m happy to say has been resolved). The exception to the rule was a series of ‘Hard To Find Motown Classics’ (I think that was the title) cds. The volume I had - purchased for Eddie Holland’s original version of ‘Leaving Here’, which became a mod fave when covered during the British beat era by the Birds and the Who – gave me my first taste of the Velvelettes (“Bird In The Hand”), as well as Brenda Holloway’s ‘I’ll be Available’. I always dug Holloway’s voice, and when I found out that she had recorded (and co-written) the original version of ‘You’ve Made Me So Very Happy’ I decided to keep my eyes peeled for a copy. Strangely enough I didn’t get that particular record until recently (sometimes it’s just like that, i.e. the rare ones walk right up and bite you on the ass and the common stuff takes a while to acquire). Holloway was unusual in that while she recorded for Motown in their mid-60’s prime, she was based not in Detroit, but California. She had been spotted by Berry Gordy singing at a radio industry convention in LA, and signed in 1964. She recorded a number of 45s (including the oft covered ‘Every Little Bit Hurts’, which was a substantial hit) and an LP that year. ‘You’ve Made Me So Very Happy’ was a Top 40 R&B and Pop hit in 1967. Written by Holloway, her sister Patrice (who would go on to be the singing/speaking voice of ‘Valerie’ on the Josie & The Pussycats cartoon), Frank Wilson and Berry Gordy, the arrangement is a little mellower than the BS&T take, and of course features Holloway’s wonderful vocals. Despite the fact that she managed to rack up a number of hits (and record two LPs) for Motown, Holloway was criminally underpromoted by the label. In Nelson George’s excellent ‘Where Did Our Love Go?’ he reprints a letter from Holloway to Gordy in which she suggests that due to her location on the West Coast, she was not getting the kind of attention her career deserved (and she was right). So disillusioned was she by her experience with Motown that she retired from music in the late 60’s. She recorded again (gospel and soul) starting in the early 80’s.

Eddie Bo & Inez Cheatham - Lover and a Friend

2006-06-21T10:42:00.000-04:00

You go, Bo!

Hey, hey ,heeeyyyyyyy!! Wheeeee! First day of summer in da hi-youssse! Of course this information will come as a surprise to my fellow New Jersey-ans who have been sweltering for a few weeks now. By way of what may come as a disturbing revelation to some, I used to go see the Grateful Dead on a fairly regular basis (late 80’s/early 90’s ish). Now I wasn’t following them around in an alfalfa sprouting, incense burning, tie-dyed, bloodshot, VW microbus, but I was otherwise a rather typical, long-haired, bong-rattling concert attendee, indistinguishable - aside from my largeness - from the rest of the crowd (though I never went in for the terpsichorean flights of fancy so common at the time). I mention this, because at the time, the Dead used to hit Giants Stadium every year in early June. The first time I saw them there, it was the end of the first week in June and it had to be close to 110 degrees. The following year, at roughly the same time, it was about 55 degrees, and I sat in my crappy, upper-deck seats freezing my fat ass off. So basically this was just a public service announcement about the capricious nature of the late-Spring/early-Summer weather in NJ. Some years the “official” first day of summer is an eagerly anticipated event, wherein it is hoped that nice weather is just around the corner. Other years it’s like you’re standing in the middle of a bonfire and some wise-guy sidles up next to you to say “Sure is getting warm!” Other than the fact that the rather abrupt change of seasons can be jarring, I dig the warm weather as it brings with it the opportunity for me to wear shorts, allowing me the opportunity to expose my ghostly white legs to the general public. If it weren’t for the persistent traffic jams that come with the post-Memorial Day season, wall to wall out-of-state plates, and the drunken yahoos driving the cars (for some reason, at the Jersey Shore these visitors are known as “bennies”). Summertime would be an absolute pleasure. That said, in the spirit of New Orleans Week, and the onset of summer, what better tune to post than Eddie Bo and Inez Cheatham’s ‘Lover and a Friend’. One of the pricier Bo items on the record market, due in large part to it’s inclusion as a sample on DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist’s ‘Brainfreeze’ mix (which drove up the value of a number of records in exactly the same way), it is worth every penny an intrepid (lucky) digger might pay, and then some. If you follow my ramblings, here an over at the webzine, you already know that I hold Mr. Edwin Bocage in the highest possible regard. If you dig good music, you should too. From the mid-50’s right on up to the present day Mr. Bo has been working his magic in vinyl, creating a vast and amazing catalogue of R&B, soul and funk, under his own name and as the guiding force (writing, producing, arranging) behind other artists. He really ought to have a shiny brass plaque affixed to his piano that reads:

The man that brought you both ‘Pass the Hatchet’ and Hook and Sling’.

I mean, the man is responsible for a LOT of amazing records, but his involvement in those two ought to be enough to get respect from anyone with an ounce of soul. However, I will not – as is my bag – let Mr. Bo rest on his laurels, without taking a moment to freshen them.

‘Lover and a Friend’ is – rightly so - one of the cornerstones of Eddie Bo’s mighty reputation. The record opens with one of the most earth-shaking drum breaks in all of New Orleans recorded soul - a genre filled with them – provided by Mr. Bobby Williams. This is the same Bobby Williams of the storied ‘Boogaloo Mardi Gras Pts 1&2’ which, like ‘Lover and a Friend’ first saw the light of day on the legendary Seven B label prior to being picked up by Capitol for national distribution.

While the ‘Lover’ break may not possess the wild, off-kilter brilliance of James Black’s opening on Bo’s ‘Hook and Sling’ (a work of absolute, certified brilliance that all who broke (breaked?) afterward should bow down before in awe), it is undeniably powerful, and ought to get even the sleepiest listener perk up, pick up their invisible drumsticks and start flailing along.

Listen to that snare snap.

Listen to that kick drum thump in syncopation as the high-hat ticks along with metronomic precision.

It’s a thing of beauty. Then the singing starts and I’m here to tell you that it gets even better.

Eddie Bo made some outstanding records with female vocalists, most notably Mary Jane Hooper and the Explosions. For a long time, due in large part to what I would consider startling vocal similarities, I believed (as did many others) that Mary Jane Hooper (real name Sena Fletcher) and Inez Cheatham was the same person. According to a few reliable sources (including Martin Lawrie at Soulgeneration) this is not the case. Though Fletcher and Cheatham apparently sang together for a while, and both worked with Bo, they were two distinct people. Cheatham and Bo start the record with a repeated refrain of ‘Shoop!”, before diving into the verse, singing in unison. They both take turns breaking out of the harmony, especially in the choruses. The backing, with piano and guitar setting a steady rhythm and the drummer almost taking the instrumental lead, provides (borrowing the title of another Bo side) a solid foundation for the exciting vocals.

At the risk of sounding like a skipping record, allow me state once again that this is another example of a New Orleans record that should have broken nationally, and for whatever reason did not connect with the record buying public. New Orleans soul and funk are decidedly idiosyncratic sounds, but the top 40 (pop and soul) of 1967/68 was certainly diverse enough to absorb them. ‘Lover and a Friend’ is certainly not the only great record – from New Orleans or anywhere else for that matter - that was not a chart success, but something inside me just wants to imagine a 1968 where it was emanating from car radios (and on dance floors) all over the country. Is that too much to ask?

Funky16Corners Radio v.5 - Funky Nawlins Pt 1

2006-06-19T11:54:00.000-04:00

Track listing

1.The Meters – Cardova (Instant) 2.Chris Kenner – Fumigate Funky Broadway (Instant) 3. Jimmy Hicks - I’m Mr Big Stuff (Big Deal) 4. The Unemployed – Funky Thing Pt1 5. Skip Easterling –Too Weak To Break The Chains (Instant) 6. Lee Dorsey – When the Bill’s Paid (Polydor) 7.Cyril Neville – Tell me What’s On Your Mind (Josie) 8.Danny White – Natural Soul Brother (SSS Intl) 9. David Batiste & The Gladiators – Funky Soul Pts 1&2 (Instant) 10.Wilbert Harrison – Girls On Parade (Buddah) 11. Chuck Carbo – Take Care of You Homework (Canyon) 12. Allen Toussaint – We The People (Bell) 13. Oliver Morgan – Roll Call (Seven B) 14.Deacon John – You Don’t Know How To Turn me On (Bell) 15. Mary Jane Hooper – Harper Valley PTA (Power) 16. Eddie Bo – Don’t Turn Me Loose (Bo Sound)

First off, we're still MOVING. The switch over to the Wordpress version of the Funky16Corners blog is underway, and will be complete and final in a week or so. This version will remain up as a repository and forwarding site, but the Blogger tool has become progressively more unreliable, and I've tired of dealing with is. Please adjust your links/bookmarks accordingly to point to http://funky16corners.wordpress.com See you there... Larry

Greetings and welcom to the fifth installment of Funky16Corners Radio, this time taking a trip back down to the Crescent City, New Orleans, Louisiana for a selection of funk and funky soul. Connoisseurs of the genre will be familiar with some of these burners, but hopefully I’ve included something that’ll be new to everyone, especially some discs that I feel have been under-appreciated. We start things off with a number that resides at the top of many “Best of All Time” funk lists, the Meters mighty ‘Cardova’. By far my favorite number the Meters ever committed to vinyl under their own name – leaving out the many amazing 45s for which they provided anonymous backing – it starts out with George Porter dropping some heavy, heavy bass (so heavy in fact, that when it comes on in the car, I have to restart the tune and crank up the bass boost). As the rest of the gang drop in, Messrs. Neville on the organ, Nocentelli on the guitar and Modeliste snapping the traps, it all comes together into a swampy, hypnotic and undeniably funky mix. The only drag here is that this amazing song never made it out as a 45 (perhaps the tiny brittle confines of a 45 were too fragile to contain such a monster). If you want to spin it, you’re going to have to track down and snare a copy of their first LP (or a reissue thereof).

Chris Kenner is known to all for his early Instant label classics like ‘I Like It Like That’, but you would be wise to see if you can score copies of his late 60’s output for that label. In addition to his Eddie Bo collaborations like ‘All Night Rambler’, he also laid down tasty sides like 1967’s ‘Fumigate Funky Broadway’. Opening with a tasty drum break, Kenner goes off on a wild tear – as he was wont to do - backed by some groovy organ. The lyrics don’t make a whole lot of sense, but really, who cares? The b-side ‘Wind the Clock’, despite the new title, is actually a Part 2-ish continuation.

Jimmy Hicks ‘I’m Mr. Big Stuff’ is of course an ‘answer record’ to Jean Knight’s 1971 ‘Mr. Big Stuff’. One of many outstanding 45s on the Big Deal imprint (along with Anthony Butler & the Invaders, and the Fantoms), ‘I’m Mr. Big Stuff’ takes things at a slightly more relaxed, and funky pace.

The Unemployed made a couple of excellent 45s with Wardell Quezerque. Though they recorded in Mississippi (at Malaco, as many of Quezerque’s productions), they were a NOLA band through and through. ‘Funky Thing’ is a fast moving, featuring group vocals, lots of guitar and solid drumming. Their other Cotillion 45, ‘Funky Rooster’ b/w ‘They Won’t Let Me’ is also excellent.

Though little known outside of New Orleans, Skip Easterling was the town’s greatest “blue-eyed” soul singer. Easterling recorded for a number of New Orleans labels – his ‘Keep The Fire Burning” on ALON is a classic – and his sides for Instant are outstanding. ‘Too Weak To Break the Chains’, from 1971 features some timely psychedelic guitar, a funky, stop-time beat and a smooth vocal by Skip. He recorded five 45s for Instant, one of which ‘I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man’ was a big local hit. Someone ought to get the lead out and compile his recordings, as he – like many other great NOLA singers – is deserving of wide recognition.

Where do you start with Lee Dorsey? The man could do no wrong. He was responsible for a number of hits, including oldies radio fixtures like ‘Ya Ya’, and was one of New Orleans’ finest R&B/soul singers. ‘When the Bill’s Paid’ hails from his 1971 Polydor LP ‘Yes We Can’. If you’ve heard the album, you already know that it’s packed from end to end with amazing tunes like ‘Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further’, ‘Tears Tears and More Tears’, ‘Gator Tail’ and the title track (later covered by the Pointer Sisters). ‘When the Bill’s Paid’ is one of the lesser known, but excellent tracks from the LP (it never came out on 45). Like the rest of the LP, it bears the mark of the Meters.

Cyril Neville’s solo debut was the 1970 45 ‘Gossip’ b/w ‘Tell Me What’s On Your Mind’. Also backed by the Meters, and Toussaint-produced it was funky on both sides – though funk 45 diggers are usually after the harder-hitting ‘Gossip’. ‘Tell Me What’s ON Your Mind’ is clearly no slouch in the funk department, with snapping drums, chunky organ and a tight, tight horn section.

Prepare yourself for the pure, unbridled soul power of Danny White’s ‘Natural Soul Brother’. White recorded a number of ballads and soul dancers through the 60’s for labels like Frisco. ‘Natural Soul Brother’ was his sole 45 for SSS Intl, and it is a stone killer. I first heard this tune years ago on a comp, and just about went nuts trying to track down a copy. For a track on a relatively common and well distributed label it proved extremely hard to find. I was foiled more than once when I thought I finally tracked on down – one disappeared en route from the UK – before I finally scored a copy for a single US dollar in an otherwise uninspiring lot on E-Bay. I suspect that after you hear the song, you’ll want one of your own as well.

I underwent a similarly frantic search for David Batiste & the Gladiators ‘Funky Soul Pts 1&2’ on Instant. Not only is this track hard to find, but when you do it is EXPENSIVE. I lucked out and got it for a reduced price, but only because it looked a lot worse than it played. I would rank ‘Funky Soul’ as one of the four or five best funk sides to emerge from New Orleans (and that’s saying a lot). Released in 1971, it was issued later on the Soulin label. I have seen sales listings that infer that the Soulin issue is the first, but looking at the vintage of other releases on that label, I have my doubts. I have included both Parts One and Two here.

The next track is by a non-New Orleans artist, but it was recorded there. ‘Girls on Parade’ hails from Wilbert Harrison’s self-titled 1971 Buddah LP. Produced by Marshall Sehorn, with horn arrangements by Allen Toussaint, the LP is unremarkable, save for the funky ‘Girls On Parade’. Harrison, best known for the classic “Kansas City” and the 1969 ‘Let’s Get Together’ (covered by Canned Heat) wails a series of girls names (and not much else) over the modified Bo Diddley beat.

Chuck Carbo’s ‘Take Care of Your Homework’ was the flip side of his funky, Eddie Bo penned/produced masterpiece ‘Can I Be Your Squeeze’. ‘ Take Care of Your Homework’ never reaches the frantic levels of ‘...Squeeze’ but is still quite funky, with a melodic chorus. Carbo had recorded a number of 45s in the 50’s and 60’s, including several as a member of the Spiders with his brother Chick.

If you follow the doings in this space, you already know that I think very highly of the great Allen Toussaint. The man was responsible for the lions share of great R&B and soul sides to come out of New Orleans in the 60’s as a songwriter, producer and arranger. He worked closely with singers like Eldridge Holmes and Betty Harris, and lesser known (but also excellent) artists like Wallace Johnson. Toussaint also had his own performing career, first as Al Tousan, then as a member of the Stokes and finally under his own name. 1969’s ‘We the People’ was his final single for the Bell label. Moving along with a loping beat, lots of piano and Toussaint’s vocals, ‘We the People’ (which was flipped with a cover of ‘Tequila’) may not be the funkiest thing he ever recorded, but is nonetheless a fine – forgotten – chapter in his solo discography.

Oliver Morgan recorded a bunch of classics, including ‘Who Shot the La La’, and, not surprisingly ‘La La Man’. The latter was one of his three collaborations with Eddie Bo on the Seven B label. The first record the recorded together was ‘Roll Call’, which features some tight James Black drums, backing vocals from Mr. Bo and a wailing lead from Morgan. The b-side, ‘Sure Is Nice’ is a groovy, upbeat soul tune.

Deacon John Moore is best known for his work as a popular New Orleans session guitarist on countless classic 60’s records. His 1971 (or ’72, I’m not 100% sure) 45 ‘You Don’t Know How (To Turn Me On)” is a funky vocal with some excellent guitar (no surprise there). I know this was comped somewhere (but can’t recall where). The flip side is a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Many Rivers To Cross’.

Eddie Bo produced and wrote for many singers, and many of his best remembered sides were with Mary Jane Hooper. For years, the rumor was that Hooper (real name Sena Fletcher) was the same person as ‘Inez Cheatham’, who recorded the duet ‘Lover and a Friend’ with Bo for Seven B and Capitol. This has been disputed – by no less an authority than Bo himself – but their voices are EERILY similar. ‘Harper Valley PTA’ was released on the local Power label, backed with another issue of ‘That’s How Strong My Love Is’, which had been issued earlier on World Pacific.

Speaking of Eddie Bo, we close this mix out with the b-side of his 1971 Bo-Sound funker ‘Can You Handle It’. ‘Don’t Turn Me Loose’ is a more relaxed, but no less satisfying number, featuring a great horn chart and some nice female backing vocals (not to mention a stellar vocal by Mr. Bo himself).

Syl Johnson - Dresses Too Short

2006-06-15T21:26:00.000-04:00

Syl, looking slick (and wicked)

Greetings. First off, we're still MOVING. The switch over to the Wordpress version of the Funky16Corners blog is underway, and will be complete and final in a week or so. This version will remain up as a repository and forwarding site, but the Blogger tool has become progressively more unreliable, and I've tired of dealing with is. Please adjust your links/bookmarks accordingly to point to http://funky16corners.wordpress.com See you there... Larry

I said bayyyybeee…your dresses too short!

Say what?

It’s Syl Johnson kids.

The one, the only, blues wailing, soul singing, harmonica wrassling, Sock It To Me man, running the route between Mississippi and Chitown, and like he said, your dresses too short (though I’m having a hard time seeing his point of view).

A few weeks ago I dropped Mr. Johnson’s name in reference to an excellent cover version of one of his best tunes, the mighty ‘Is It because I’m Black’, as offered by one Ken Boothe, reggae singer extraordinaire. Mr Boothe will be featured in this space, laying down that very same song in a few short weeks (during Funky16Corners all-Jamaican week, really…).

Syl Johnson is one of those cats, that despite being a dependable R&B hitmaker for almost 20 years, starting out with Chicago’s storied Twinight imprint, and then moving on to even more fine work in the hallowed Memphian halls of the Hi label (home to the right Rev. Green – “Al” to his friends – Anne Peebles and Willie Mitchell among others).

As I said, he erupted from Mississippi, and crash landed in Chicago in the late 50’s, working for legends like Magic Sam (the cat that makes me wish I had a blues blog on the side), Junior Wells and Billy Boy “I Wish You Would” Arnold, before making it into the studio with the laconic (some would say somnolent), and highly influential blues giant Jimmy Reed.

He started laying down his own wax for Federal that same year, making a number of 45s for that label into 1962.

Between ’62, and ’67 when he made his first sides for Twinight he recorded for a few small labels. He had one of his biggest hits right out of the gate with ‘Come On Sock It To Me’, his very first single for Twinight. An outstanding example of rough-edged sock soul, it can also be found in its non-vocal form on the Shama label as played by Syl’s backing band The Deacons (featuring Syl’s brother Jimmy on guitar). It’s a nice slice of mid-60’s organ bashing and remains rather affordable (at least the last time I checked). The Deacons version – ‘Sock It To Me’ hit the R&B Top 40 in December of 1968, just a month after ‘Dresses Too Short’ did the very same thing.

‘Dresses Too Short’, a similarly savage entry into the Big Book of Fine Chicago Soul Sides, though committed to wax in the Windy City, sounds as if Syl dragged the gang back down below the Mason-Dixon line for the session. The drums, they snap, the gee-tar, she twangs, the organ grinds and the horns sound like they wafted in on a strong wind from McLemore Ave. It’s a lively take on, if I may borrow a phrase from Mr. Lou Courtney – “chick check’n” – and sounds like the sound produced by a hot room full of funky butts, cheap wine and Continental suits.

That’s a PARTY son!

When Syl, who wails mightily starts going on about how,

You’re looking good

You’re looking so good, now

When you sock it to me

Rock it to me one more time

I can’t stand it

I’m going out of my mind

I said BAYYYBEEEE

You wear your dresses too short!

You’re there in the room with him, reaching up to mop the sweat from his brow, so his vision of such a fine, fine woman should not be in any way obscured.

The flip side, ‘I Can Take Care of Business’ is a very tasty soul ballad that incorporates a bit of Syl’s blues past.

Very nice 45 indeed.

NOTE: This, otherwise known as the regularly scheduled Friday post, is going up tonight on account of I got some bidness to take care of on the morrow. I’ll be back on Monday with a week of some high quality New Orleans sounds, including a new installment of Funky16Corners Radio.

Donate to the 2006 Funky16Corners Pledge Drive

Ike & Tina Turner & The Ikettes - There Was a Time \ African Boos \ Funky Street

2006-06-14T10:46:00.000-04:00

Ike & Tina Turner

Greetings.

First off, we're still MOVING.

The switch over to the Wordpress version of the Funky16Corners blog is underway, and will be complete and final in a week or so. This version will remain up as a repository and forwarding site, but the Blogger tool has become progressively more unreliable, and I've tired of dealing with is.

Please adjust your links/bookmarks accordingly to point to

http://funky16corners.wordpress.com

See you there...

Larry

Hey, hey, hey..... It’s Wednesday morning, and I am feeling about as well as anyone whose two-year-old son decided to wake him up at 5:45AM, i.e. I am tired. My eyes feel like two tennis balls, and the urge to crawl under my desk and take a nap is almost impossible to resist. However, the need to remain gainfully employed, and the inner pilot light that ignites my ‘The blog must go on’ impulse is maintaining just enough of a connection between my ears, brain and fingers to get today’s entry typed out. The only remedy, of course, is to open up what beer-swilling, ham-fisted goons normally refer to as a “can of whoopass”, or what I like to call – coincidentally – a “can of whoopass”. This may betray the fact that sometime in my cloudy past I may have aspired to – and achieved – beer-swilling, ham-fisted goon-hood, but that is a risk I must take, because if there is a can of whoopass near enough to grab, it has a label that reads: Ike and Tina Turner Revue, Handle with Caution! That’s right chillun. By clicking on today’s MP3 link, you will be unleashing into your computer (and of course your ears) a blast of just over six minutes of absolutely, unrelentingly, spine-twisting, brain-softening, eye-popping soul power. It may have been recorded more than 35 years ago, but like a bottle of ripple, it has only gotten more powerful (maybe even dangerous). I have dropped some Ike and Tina action in this space before, and though I bow to their power without hesitation, it is only fair to say that when it comes to the Turners, I am often conflicted as to what category they and their music should inhabit. They are certainly soulful, but are they “soul”? While capable of undeniably funky moments, are they “funk”? Hmmmmmm.... Does anyone but me care about these distinctions? Perhaps not, but I’m gonna keep writing anyway. Ike and Tina Turner, by sheer force of talent and personality, managed to embrace all aspects of black music during their prime, while simultaneously transcending labels. They were purely rhythm and blues, but their sound passed through (and marked) soul, funk and even rock’n’roll. They managed to create explosive and popular music that while rooted in roadhouses and chittlin’ circuit theaters almost always ended up going in other directions. How much of this power resulted from their famously contentious and violent partnership, is not for me to say. Despite Ike’s obvious talent, he was reportedly a wife-beating asshole, tyrant and all around unpleasant individual, and I can’t imagine this inspiring Tina to do anything other than pack a bag, grab her kids and hit the road (which she eventually did). The only answer – for me, anyway – is that they were both very talented, and they managed to create dynamic music in spite of their problems. That said, they also managed to put together a shit-hot act, a large part of which was their backing group the Ikettes. Though I can’t say with any certainty which Ikettes are performing on today’s selection, but I can says that over the years their ranks included Clydie King, Vanetta Fields, Jo Armstead, P.P. Arnold and Bonnie Bramlett, and that they managed to crank out some outstanding 45s under their own name (and later as the Mirettes). Today’s selection(s) hails from a 1969 Minit LP, ‘In Person: Ike and Tina Turner and the Ikettes’. Though by this time the Ike & Tina Turner Revue was playing psychedelic ballrooms and festivals, they were still hitting the supper clubs, and as things open up, the appropriate vibe seems to be in place. The band is vamping on a vague approximation of King Curtis’s ‘Soul Serenade’ and KSOL DJ Herb Campbell – who sounds like he’s chairing the local Kiwanis– is greeted by polite applause as he comes out to introduce the band. He calls out the Ikettes, who take the stage and thank the audience. Then, it happens. Forgetting that they’re in a supper club and not looking out over a sea of muddy hippies, the band turns the volume up to 11, and proceeds to explode into a cover of James Brown’s ‘There Was a Time’. I can only imagine some of the tuxedoed swells in the audience gagging on their cocktail onions as the band tears into the song at about 150 miles per hour. ‘There Was a Time’ is one of my fave JB songs, and I’m here to tell you that the Ikettes more than do it justice. They take the song and turn it into an extended intro – warning? – as Tina is preparing to take the stage. The Ikettes finish up, and Campbell returns to the stage to bring Tina on. ‘The beautiful, talented, Queen of Soul, Miss Tina Turner!’ Tina walks on – I’m assuming, this is after all a record – and the band fires back up and take things at an even faster rate (if that’s possible). There’s an extended vamp, with Ike bending the strings, and the drummer (whoever he was) laying down a hard, fast groove, and you can imagine Tina and the Ikettes doing that frantic Pony-variation that they did so well. Tina drops in and starts things up.

One used to be the Shotgun Two used to be the bad boogaloo Three used to be the swingin’ Shingaling Four used to be the Funky Four Corners Down on Funky Street Diggin’ the funky beat Down on Funky Street Where the grooviest people meet! OUCH! It like Arthur Conley is there on the stage, his face streaked with tears as Tina and the Ikettes are dancing all over prone, shattered form. It’s that powerful. And then, after two (very) short verses, the whole affair comes to an abrupt end. The audience sits there, eyelids peeled back, lapels afire, wondering why they gave up a chance to see Robert Goulet to subject themselves to the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, for which they were obviously not prepared. It’s just like that sometimes.

* PS I'm not exactly which part of this medley "African Boos" is, unless that's what Ike decided to call the part of the song where the band is vamping on 'There Was a Time', which in all hoesty just should have been called 'There Was a Time'.

Billy Preston - Let The Music Play

2006-06-12T11:10:00.002-04:00

Billy Preston R.I.P.

Greetings.

First off, we're still MOVING.

Please adjust your links/bookmarks accordingly to point to

http://funky16corners.wordpress.com

See you there...

Larry

I was saddened last week to hear of the passing of the great Billy Preston. If you grew up in the 70’s, Preston was a very familiar face, having hit the charts a number of times with tunes like ‘Outta Space’ and ‘Will It Go Round In Circles’. It’s not hard to conjure up an image of the Billy Preston of the 70’s, with his impossibly large afro and infectious, gap-toothed smile. While most of the music blogs I follow featured a tribute of some kind, this space remained unfortunately Preston-less. This was due in large part to the fact that I already had some posts n the hopper, and because I couldn’t quite think of any tunes that hadn’t already been covered in some way. This weekend I started to pull out and record some new material for the coming weeks, and while flipping through my Hammond boxes, I came up with something I think you’ll dig. It was only in adulthood that I found out about, and started to listen to Preston’s early work. Through the 60’s, from the time he was a teenager up until just before he collaborated with the Beatles on ‘Get Back’, Preston made a series of instrumental LPs featuring his work on the organ for the Derby, VeeJay and Capitol labels. Though none of these records would meet with any chart success, a few of his numbers, especially ‘Billy’s Bag’ (on VeeJay) would become dancefloor faves with the Mod and Northern Soul crowds in the UK. Though I was aware of this material for a while, the first record I was actually able to get my hands on was his first Capitol LP ‘The Wildest Organ in Town’. Arranged by (and featuring uncredited contributions from) Sly Stone, the LP was recorded not long after Preston’s run on the US pop showcase Shindig. This LP - like his previous work for VeeJay - featured a mix of cover versions of pop and soul tunes and a few originals. So, the years went on, and – Hammond fiend that I am – I grabbed Preston’s early stuff whenever I was able. Some years ago, during that period of acquisition, my pal Haim played a Preston 45 for me that I had never heard before, which immediately blew me away. ‘Let The Music Play’, which was released in late 1966 (and was recorded for Preston’s second Capitol LP ‘Club Meeting’, which I have never seen in the field), is less a Hammond tour de force than a jubilant, soulful vocal number that verily explodes with energy. Arranged by HB Barnum, the tune opens with a wailing organ, horns and vibes. Preston starts the vocal (I tend to think that the second voice in the background may be Stone, but it’s just as possible that it’s Preston doubling himself), and the verse - about a miserable life redeemed by music – is excellent, but it’s not until the chorus, with it’s wild “Hey!”s that sound as if they are panned from channel to channel, that things take off. The horn chart is powerful, and the backing track sounds as if it were recorded live in the studio with little or no overdubs. It’s probably my favorite Preston side, and ought to be better known. Preston must have liked the song since he re-recorded it in the mid-70’s. The version of Bobby Hebb’s ‘Sunny’ on the flip side, sounds like a live recording and has a loose, “churchy” feel to it. It’s a great companion piece to ‘Let the Music Play’. As I said before, I’ve never seen a copy of the LP ‘Club Meeting’, I have seen the 45 turn up now and again, and ‘Wildest Organ In Town’ and ‘Club Meeting’ have been paired up for a CD reissue, as have his VeeJay recordings.

Tammi Terrell - I Can't Believe You Love Me

2006-06-09T08:31:00.000-04:00

Miss Tammi Terrell

Howdy all... The end of the week is upon us, and change is looming on the horizon. The past few weeks Blogger (the service through which this blog is posted) has been experiencing another round of technical difficulties – which seem to be happening with increasing frequency. This has made posting the blog increasingly difficult – if not impossible. I’ve had less trouble than some because all of my sound and graphic files are posted on a separate server, and are unaffected by these outages, but actually getting my posts online has been getting harder and harder (especially considering that I like to meet my traditional Monday/Wednesday/Friday deadlines. I’ve decided to “mirror” the Funky16Corners blog using a newly constructed (and different looking) Wordpress blog. I’ll continue to post the entries on both blogs for a few weeks, giving readers and linking sites time to adjust their links, and then probably continue to maintain the Blogger site as an archive. I know this is a little confusing, but finding the time to get this all prepped and written is hard enough, but the difficulty is compounded when I can’t get my work posted on the web where you all can get a look at it.

NEW VERSION OF THE BLOG IS HERE.

Please adjust your links accordingly.

Also - the Funky16Corners 2006 Pledge Drive continues (see Paypal link in the sidebar)

Anyway... Today’s selection is another one of those “hey look what I found sitting in my pile of records” revelations, which seem to be happening with increasing frequency these days. A while back, I was working on the computer and pulling LPs off the shelf and spinning them on the portable. One of the discs I grabbed was a 1967 Motown anthology – something like “16 Original Hits” – that had a bunch of painfully obvious, heavily overplayed selections, and a few interesting items that I was not familiar with. One of these, buried at the end of one of the sides was a Tammi Terrell tune, ‘I Can’t Believe You Love Me’. So, I’m sitting there, waiting for a page to load in the background, and playing spider solitaire and suddenly I hear a strangely familiar song. I checked the label, saw it was the aforementioned Tammi Terrell song, and started wracking my brain as to where I might have heard it before. It took a few minutes, and then I realized that I knew the song, but in a recording by someone else, in this case the mighty Ambassadors of Philadelphia, PA. The Ambassadors were one of the finest harmony soul groups to come out of Philly in the late 60’s, having recorded a series of 45s for Atlantic, and then a second run of 45s and an LP for the Philly label Arctic (also home to the Volcanos and Barbara Mason). ‘I Can’t Believe You Love Me’ was the b-side of the group’s first Arctic 45, the a-side of which ‘I Really Love You’ was their only chart hit. Tammi Terrell - who also hailed from Philadelphia – is best known to most listeners as one of the more prominent duet partners of Marvin Gaye (“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ and ‘You’re All I Need To Get By’ among others) , and for her short, tragic life. She began performing in her early teens, and recorded a few 45s (for Scepter, and James Brown’s Try Me label) before being signed to Motown in 1965. ‘I Can’t Believe You Love Me’ was the a-side of her very first 45 for the label, and it hit the Top 40 of both the Pop and R&B charts. Written by Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol, ‘I Can’t Believe You Love Me’, as recorded by Terrell is a lush, sexy mid-tempo number with a fantastic arrangement. Opening with what sounds like doubled electric guitars, and then strings, Terrell comes in with her sweet voice, running through the chorus once before dropping back into the verse. Her voice is accompanied only by the guitars and percussion, before the backing singers and strings come back in for the chorus, which builds ever so subtly into a crescendo. It has quickly become one of my favorite Motown sides. Terrell also recorded the tune as a duet with Gaye in 1969. In 1967, she collapsed on stage and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Though she continued to record for a few more years, her condition got worse and she finally died in 1970, only 24 years old. Fortunately, all of Tammi Terrell’s best work – solo and with Marvin Gaye - is available in reissue, as are the recordings of the Ambassadors (which I recommend highly, even though their CD omits their version of this great song).

Funky16Corners Radio v.4 - S.O.S. (Heart In Distress)

2006-06-07T11:24:00.001-04:00

Track listing

Velvelettes - Lonely Lonely Girl Am I (VIP)

Betty Harris - I Don't Want To Hear It (Sansu)

Irma Thomas - What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)

Flirtations - Nothing But A Heartache (Deram)

Cooperettes - Shingaling (Brunswick)

Barbara West - You're No Good (Ronn)

Kim Weston - Helpless (Gordy)

Betty Everett - Getting Mighty Crowded (VeeJay)

Shirley Ellis - Soul Time (Columbia)

Christine Cooper - S.O.S. (Heart In Distress) (Parkway)

Persianettes - It Happens Every Day (OR)

Marvelettes - I'll Keep On Holding On (Tamla)

Thelma Jones - Stronger (Barry)

Bonnie & Lee - The Way I Feel About You (Fairmount)

Martha & The Vandellas - In My Lonely Room (Gordy)

Linda Jones - I Can't Help Loving My Baby (Loma)

Liberty Belles - Shingaling Time (Shout)

Jean Wells - With My Love and What You've Got (Calla) Top o’ the morning/afternoon to ye.... Today brings us to the fourth installment of Funky16Corners Radio, this time bearing the title ‘S.O.S. Heart In Distress’, borrowing its name from the record of the same name, representing a storming collection of mid-60’s, danceable, female-driven soul sides.

Keep in mind that the Funky16Corners 2006 Pledge Drive continues (see Paypal link in sidebar to the right). As with all previous Funky16Corners mixes, this one is a distillation of a personal mix I’ve been rocking for a few years, playing and replaying until it was boiled down to it’s essence. Composed of 18 of my faves, almost all compelling the listener to get up and dance (or at least nod one’s head vigorously). If you’re a cardholder in the world of hardcore soulies (or a regular reader of this blog), some of these tracks will be familiar, but hopefully many will be fresh and new (to you) and you will dig them accordingly.

Disinterested in wasting time, we kick in the door (as it were) with what I consider to be one of the finest records to have been produced in Detroit during the 1960’s. ‘Lonely Lonely Girl Am I’ by the Velvelettes , is an example of the early brilliance of Norman Whitfield. Cowritten by Whitfield, Eddie Holland and Eddie Kendricks, the tune is just over two minutes of dancefloor soul brilliance. Sporting a classy arrangement and a fantastic vocal by Carolyn Gill, it’s the finest of many excellent 45s by the Velvelettes.

Not willing to let up one iota, the next tune, ‘I Don’t Want To Hear It’ is one of Betty Harris’s best. Harris, who recorded ballads, upbeat soul and funk under the aegis of the brilliant Allen Toussaint between 1965 and 1970 (and is back performing today, having recently won back the rights to her catalogue) wails like a woman scorned. I’d love to know how Toussaint got that deep bass sound at the beginning of the record.

Speaking of the Soul Queens of New Orleans, the only woman that can give Betty Harris a run for her money in competition for that title is the legendary Irma Thomas. Thomas recorded a series of brilliant 45s for the Imperial label in the mid-60’s. Though many of these were recorded in California, the best of them (including this track) were recorded in her home base of New Orleans with Allen Toussaint. ‘What Are You Trying to Do’ is one of those brilliant Toussaint productions/arrangements that seem to transcend a “New Orleans” feel, skyrocketing into the pop/soul stratosphere. Thomas’s soaring vocal is complemented by a propulsive beat and elegant strings. It took me a long time to find a copy of this one, but boy was it ever worth it. The Flirtations ‘Nothing But A Heartache’ is a mindblower. I first found this record years ago, purchasing it unheard, mainly because it was a Deram 45 that I’d never encountered before. As soon as I got it home I realized what a find I had (keeping in mind that this was back in the day when this was a cheap record). The Flirtations recorded their first 45s in the US for the Josie label, but it wasn’t until they relocated to the UK and recorded for Parrot and then Deram that they really broke out. The recorded a series of tunes written by UK pop songsmiths Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington who had done time in Pete Best’s band and went on to write a number of pop hits. ‘Nothing But A Heartache’ grabs you from the opening piano chords, and seemingly manages to pack the power of ten records into this one recording. The tune was recently recorded by Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.

I don’t know much about the Cooperettes aside from the fact that they hailed from Philadelphia and they recorded a number of excellent 45s. The best of them is the Northern Soul classic ‘Shingaling’. Recording for the Harthon organization, the backing track for ‘Shingaling’ was recycled for Irma and the Fascinators brilliant, unreleased but often comped ‘You Need Love’. Opening with casual high-hat hits that build into a powerful drum roll, the tune is a storming dancer with some amazing production.

Changing things up a bit, with a moody feel is Barbara West’s version of ‘You’re No Good’. Written by Clint Ballard (who also wrote the Mindbenders ‘Game of Love’ and ‘I’m Alive’ for the Hollies), the tune is perhaps best known in versions by Betty Everett and Linda Ronstandt. I dig West’s gritty, pained take on the number. When she’s shouting ‘You’re no good!” in the chorus, she sounds like she means it. West recorded four 45s for the Ronn label.

‘Helpless’ by Kim Weston is a fine example of Holland/Dozier /Holland goodness. Weston, who recorded a number of duets with Marvin Gaye, also recorded a grip of winners as a solo, most notable this gem from 1966. After leaving Motown she went on to record for MGM, Volt and People among other labels.

Speaking of Betty Everett, she may best be known as the singer of one of the most overplayed oldies ever, i.e. ‘The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)’ but she was certainly no slouch. She recorded a number of killer sides for the VeeJay label, including the classic ‘It’s Getting Mighty Crowded’. Written by Van McCoy, the tune was later covered by Alan Price, and even later by Elvis Costello & The Attractions.

Shirley Ellis is another great singer who’s finest work is often overlooked because of her big hits (in her case ‘The Name Game’). Ellis recorded a number of excellent sides for the Congress label (including ‘Nitty Grity’) before jumping to Columbia in 1966. ‘Soul Time’ (taken from the LP of the same name) is one of her best sides

Christine Cooper recorded three outstanding 45s for the Cameo/Parkway label, the rarest of which ‘Heartaches Away My Boy’ trades for hundreds of dollars. 1965’s ‘S.O.S. (Heart In Distress)’ may be more affordable, but it’s no less a killer. Featuring a bright, poppy arrangement, and a “morse code” riff in the chorus (predating the Five Americans), ‘S.O.S. (Heart In Distress)’ is simply a great record.

The Persianettes/Persionettes were another Phildelphia group, part of the Ben-Lee stable that included artists like Patti & The Emblems, Timmy & the Empires, Cindy Scott and Kenny Gamble. ‘It Happens Every Day’ which was released on Open Records, was one half of a brilliant two-sided 45 (with ‘Call On Me’ on the flip). The Persianettes recorded sides for Swan, Olympia, Guyden and Open/Or, as well as singing backup on other Ben-Lee productions.

The Marvelettes ‘I’ll Keep On Holding On’ is one of the greatest Motown sides of the 60’s, as well as a beloved Mod/Northern Soul classic. Covered in the mid-60’s by UK Mod gods the Action (which is where I first heard it) ‘I’ll keep On Holding On’ is nothing less than an anthem. It has a pounding arrangement, memorable lead and backing vocals (gotta love those Oooooweeoooo’s) and builds to a sing-a-long chorus that you never want to end.

Thelma Jones recorded a string of great 45s for the Barry label between 1966 and 1968, including the original (and superior) version of ‘The House That Jack Built’. ‘Stronger’ was the b-side of her first single for Barry in 1966.

Years ago I picked up a beat up copy of ‘The Way That I Feel About You’ by Bonnie & Lee for a buck at a record fair, and fell in love with it instantly. Fortunately I was able to mint up a few years later at a similarly low price. It’s an amazing record (released in 65 or 66 on Philly’s Fairmount label), and why it remains undiscovered is a mystery to me. Though this is a duet – and doesn’t adhere strictly to the format of this mix – Bonnie’s vocals are so good I couldn’t hold it back.

Another song I heard by the Action before the original recording is 1964’s ‘In My Lonely Room’ by Martha and the Vandellas. Opening with jangly rhythm guitar and vibes, the drums soon kick in and take this record to another level entirely. By the time Martha and the girls drop is things are moving at a brisk pace, making this one of my favorite Motown dancers. The way the rhythm builds up, with the guitar, drums, tambourine and handclaps one on top of another, along with Martha Reeves powerful lead vocal is amazing.

Linda Jones recorded a bunch of great 45s for Loma in the mid 60’s. Her biggest hit was 1967’s ‘Hypnotized’, but I’m here to hep you to it’s energetic flip side ‘I Can’t Stop Loving My Baby’. Featuring a very solid vocal by Jones, and a tight, danceable arrangement, this one ought to get your feet moving.

I know nothing about the Liberty Belles, aside from the fact that ‘Shingaling Time’ is a killer. Dig that ‘Ha Ha!’ at the beginning and the pounding drums. The tune was also released in the UK on JayBoy.

The mix closes out with another personal favorite and is probably the latest tune in this batch, hailing from 1968. Jean Wells recorded excellent 45s for a number of labels (including Quaker Town, Sunshine, ABC and Calla) through the 60’s, and ‘With My Love and What You’ve Got (We Could Turn The World Around)’ is by far the finest. An absolute stunner with an arrangement that builds to a powerful chorus (which continues to build on itself right into the run off groove) this record never lets up. The record has sophisticated production with an eye turned to the pop market, and Wells vocal, especially in the last 30 seconds of the record is incredible.

Pat Lewis - Warning b/w I'll Wait

2006-06-05T11:59:00.000-04:00

Miss Pat Lewis

Greetings all.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and is sufficiently rested, at least rested enough so that the sudden shock of some outstanding soul music won’t knock you on your ass. Presumptuous? I think not. While combing the crates for the most recent batch of tasty 45s to whip on you via the ole blogspot, I was seized by what the Tenacious D boys refer to as “inspirado”. No matter how many 45s I flipped through, I was repeatedly drawn to some very nice 60’s female soul sides, and thought to myself, “Grogan...” That’s how I refer to myself when engaged in internal dialogue. “You know what you oughtta do?” “Whazzat?” said I. “Pull a grip of these babies, and do a theme week. Lay a new mix on’em on Wednesday and bookend that with a couple of winners on Monday and Friday.” Naturally, considering the source I thought this was a wonderful idea, and got right down to work. The first thing I grabbed was yet another Solid Hit disc (following the unjustly ignored Johnny Goode 45 of roughly a month ago), this time ‘Warning’ b/w ‘I’ll Wait’ by the mighty Pat Lewis. I first encountered the sounds of Pat Lewis a few years back via one of Keb Darge’s comps (Beams Presents the Keb Darge Experience). The tune he included, the absolutely incredible ‘No One To Love’, the third of her four singles for the Solid Hit label. I instantly fell in love with the song, and set out to try and bag my own copy. That is until I found out that when copies of this single turn up, they trade in the vicinity of $1000.00 apiece. Naturally, when I do come across that kind of money, I use it to pay my mortgage, so it was not to be. However, I did keep the name Pat Lewis on my want list and grabbed her – how do you say – “more affordable” sides when I was able to find them. If you are unfamiliar with Lewis, I can assure you that you have definitely heard her voice. She was one of the Andantes, the female backing group that appears on countless Motown 45s, and sang on Isaac Hayes’ ‘Hot Buttered Soul’ LP, providing the signature “Walk on!”s on Hayes’ epic rereading of ‘Walk On By’. In 1966 and 1967 Lewis also laid down several 45s under her own name, including ‘Can’t Shake It Loose’ on Golden World (re-recorded as ‘I Can’t Shake It Loose’ by the Supremes, and the aforementioned 45s for Solid Hit. Lewis had the good fortune to work with the Geo-Si-Mik organization (George Clinton, Sidney Barnes and Mike Terry) during her tenure with those two labels. Clinton co-wrote and produced ‘Can’t Shake It Loose’, eventually rerecording the song with Funkadelic during the sessions to their debut LP (the song remained unreleased until a recent reissue of the LP). Her first 45 for Solid Hit was a fantastic version of the Parliaments tune ‘Look At What I Almost Missed’. Today’s selection(s) appeared on her second 45 for Solid Hit. ‘Warning’ (written by Leon Ware and Mike Terry) is a moody but upbeat number that juxtaposes pounding drums and elegant strings. Lewis delivers the lyrics in her clear soprano against the propulsive instrumental backing. The flip side, the slower, darker ‘I’ll Wait’ was co-written by Clinton and sounds like any number of similar Parliaments numbers (such as ‘All Your Goodies Are Gone’). This number was also re-recorded (as ‘I’ll Stay’) by Funkadelic on their 1974 LP ‘Standing On The Verge of Getting It On’). Lewis would go on to record two more 45s for Solid Hit, making her responsible for a full third of that label’s output. Unfortunately very little of Pat Lewis’ recorded output is currently available. If you pop over to Dusty Groove and search under her name, a few comps containing the aforementioned ‘No One To Love’ show up, but little else. Funky16Corners 2006 Fund Drive In other news, the fund drive continues (Paypal link to the right in the sidebar). My thanks to those that have already been very generous. See you on Wednesday with that new installment of Funky16Corners radio!

Billy Vera & Judy Clay - Tell It Like It Is

2006-06-02T13:01:00.000-04:00

Billy Vera & Judy Clay

Greetings all. Friday is here, the weekend is upon us and the fine weather (at least for the time being) gives us all something to look forward to. The Funky16Corners 2006 Pledge Drive continues (link in the sidebar to the right), and I have to say thanks to those of you that have already been very generous. I really appreciate the vote of support. Stay tuned, because next week is Soul Girls week, with a couple of very nice Detroit soul sides and a new Funky16Corners Radio mix. I think (I hope) you’ll dig it. Today’s selection is a record that I was completely unaware of until recently. Those of you that hit this space with regularity know that I’ve covered the sounds of Billy Vera & Judy Clay before. Their 1968 ‘Storybook Children’ LP is a longtime fave, and I consider their smoking b-side ‘Really Together’ to be one of the great, lost classics of upbeat late 60’s soul. A few months ago, a friend sent me his sales list, and I while scanning the pages, making mental checkmarks here and there, I happened upon what appeared to be a Vera/Clay 45 that I’d never seen before. After a quick check I discovered that both sides of this 45 were non-LP. Billy Vera was already a working songwriter/performer when he penned the song ‘Storybook Children’. Vera tried recording it as a duet with Nona Hendryx (then part of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles), and when that session didn’t work out – according to Vera the duo was put asunder when the Bluebelles manager feared that a hit would break up that group -, Jerry Wexler suggested that Judy Clay (then signed to Stax) would make a suitable replacement. Clay, who had been a member of the gospel group the Drinkard Singers (with Cissy Houston) had already recorded a number of singles under her own name for several labels (including Ember, Lavette and Scepter) before hooking up with Stax in 1967. Clay came in and the vocal on ‘Storybook Children’ was rerecorded (over the original backing track), and the single went on to hit the Top 40 (both sides charting) in several markets. Unfortunately, as the first interracial soul duo, Vera and Clay were subjected to all manner of predictable racist nonsense, which was compounded by the fact that many assumed (wrongly) that ‘Storybook Children’ was based in fact and that Vera and Clay were more than just singing partners. They recorded their LP for Atlantic, and when further success eluded them, they went their separate ways. Vera went on to record as a solo, and Clay returned to Memphis to duet with William Bell on the hit ‘Private Number’. As far as I knew, that was where the Vera/Clay partnership ended. Then I found the 45 of ‘Reaching for the Moon’ b/w ‘Tell It Like It Is’. So, I’m doing my research, and I discover that the catalogue number on the 45 was significantly higher than on ‘Storybook Children’, placing the release of the single in 1969 at the earliest, long after the duo had supposedly stopped working together. My curiosity was piqued. I started digging a little deeper. It turns out that the partnership of Billy Vera and Judy Clay got a second chance. Following her success with William Bell, and a 45 of her own on Stax, Clay was brought back to Atlantic and paired with Vera once again. The 1969 session yielded the two songs on this 45. Unfortunately, after ‘Reaching for the Moon’ looked like it was going to catch on, the duet went their separate ways - for many of the same reasons - once again. While ‘Reaching for the Moon’ is a nice tune, I’m here to hep you to the flip, a very nice version of the mighty ‘Tell It Like It Is’. Now, I won’t yank your chain and suggest that any version of the song surpasses the 1966 original by Aaron Neville. That recording was a big hit, and for good reason. If ever a song seemed custom designed for Neville’s sweet voice and wide open vibrato, this is it. Written by New Orleans musicians George Davis and Lee Diamond (one of Little Richard’s Upsetters); it was recorded by Neville in 1965. Davis and Diamond offered the recording to several local labels, but there were no takers. They formed the Parlo label to release the song, and of course had a huge hit with it. Despite the song’s success, and a couple of other excellent recordings by Neville (including ‘Tell It...’s b-side ‘Why Worry’ and the lost classic ‘A Hard Nut To Crack’) Parlo soon went under. Since then, the song has been covered countless times by artists including Freddy Fender, Percy Sledge, Heart and (believe it or not) Andy Williams. However, for all the covers I never heard the song performed as a duet until I came across the Vera/Clay version. Produced (like all of their Atlantic recordings) by Chip Taylor, and recorded in NYC, the record manages to have a nice “Southern” sound, with a great horn chart, some soulful electric piano, and of course some fantastic Vera/Clay vocal interaction. I know that there are those out there that have cast aspersions of Billy Vera’s vocal talents, but I’m here to tell you that while he may not have been putting the fear of God into the Otis Reddings of the world, he was a fine R&B singer with a real “feel” for the music. He managed to be soulful without resorting to the kind of histrionics that make the Michael Bolton’s of the world so objectionable. His slightly reedy timbre provides a nice counterpoint to Clay’s soaring, gospel-inflected voice. The sad thing is that this 45 was their final record together. I find my self wondering what they might have accomplished had they the opportunity to work together for a longer period of time in a more accepting world. The ‘Storybook Children’ LP is available as a reissue, paired with Vera’s solo LP ‘With Pen In Hand’. Unfortunately the two tracks from this 45 were not included, and as far as I can tell are not currently available in reissue.

Donny Hathaway - Jealous Guy

2006-05-31T10:54:00.000-04:00

Donny Hathway

What up, yo? Here’s hoping that everyone (living within the borders of the United States wherein the holiday of Memorial Day is observed) had a great holiday weekend, and those of you who reside elsewhere did as well (you’re the ones that had to work on Monday...). It couldn’t have been better here in NJ, where the weather was spectacular.

2006 PLEDGE DRIVE

We’re coming up fast on the first anniversary of the great Funky16Corners Bandwidth Crisis of 2005, in which the blog got a little more attention than we were prepared for (via BoingBoing) and had to jump to a more accommodating (and expensive) server. As that bill is coming due, the time has come for what should hopefully be a brief “pledge drive”. If you dig what we do here, and the sounds we post up, it would be much appreciated if you could make a small donation via the Paypal link in the sidebar to the right (directly above the Blog Links Section ----->) . All funds collected will go toward paying for another year of storage and bandwidth here at the Funky16Corners blog. Though the Blogger set up costs nothing, I do have to have a place to keep all the pictures and more importantly the sound files (especially now that I’m posting mixes), and that is - unfortunately – not free. Keep in mind that aside from the pittance that comes in from the Amazon links following some of the posts, there really is no other source of income to cover the cost of running this operation (aside from my own, increasingly empty pocket). If you can’t – or don’t want to – donate, that’s cool too. Unlike PBS, you need only scroll down to the post to avoid this momentary beg-a-thon. Thanks Larry _________________________________

Though I’ve known of Donny Hathaway since I was a kid – his duet with Roberta Flack, ‘Where Is The Love’ is still a fave – I can’t say that I ever knew much about him. I remember hearing of his tragic suicide in 1979, and was aware of the reverence in which he is held by many, but until recently never really investigated his music. In the last10 or so years I became aware of his songs via their early recordings by other artists. Though he is best remembered as a performer, Hathaway spent some years working mostly as a composer/arranger/backing musician, doing a lot of work for the Cadet label, his songs having been performed by artists like the Soulful Strings (‘Valdez In The Country’ on their 1969 ‘String Fever’ LP), and Woody Herman (‘Flying Easy’ on ‘Heavy Exposure’, also from 1969). When he finally broke out as a performer, first via a duet single on Curtom with June Conquest, then through his own albums on Atco (starting in 1970) it was immediately obvious that Donny Hathaway was a major talent on his own. While he is considered a “soul” singer, after listening to the work he managed to commit to vinyl in his relatively short career, it seems unfair to limit Hathaway that way. He not only had a remarkable voice, but his sound encompassed elements of soul, gospel, jazz, classical and pop music. He was a talented instrumentalist and arranger, and his albums (three studio LPs, one live LP and two collaborations with Roberta Flack) reflect his wide ranging sound. Though he is known as a major influence on the “nu soul” sound, he was much, much more that that association would suggest, and all of his records are worth seeking out, especially his 1972 ‘Live’ LP. One of the interesting things about Hathaway’s oeuvre is that although he was an accomplished songwriter, he loved to cover other people’s material. In his short career he recorded songs by Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Leon Russell, Carole King, Billy Preston, Van McCoy, Marvin Gaye and Al Kooper (among others) . On ‘Live’ he also recorded today’s selection, a cover of John Lennon’s ‘Jealous Guy’. Though ‘Jealous Guy’ has become a perennial favorite, with recordings by Joe Cocker, Jose Feliciano, The Faces, Roxy Music, The Black Crowes, Little Jimmy Scott and Peter Criss (?!?), Hathaway was the first to record a cover the tune, only a year after Lennon’s original recording on the ‘Imagine’ LP. The ‘Live’ LP is a tour de force, including the opening cover of ‘What’s Going On’, Hathaway’s epics ‘The Ghetto’ and ‘Voices Inside (Everything is Everything)’, and the lesser known but intensely melodic ‘Hey Girl’ which was written by his percussionist Earl DeRouen. Hathaway’s deft rereading of ‘Jealous Guy’, with its comparatively spare arrangement, stands apart from the rest of the album. Featuring both electric and acoustic piano, basic percussion and some nice guitar from Cornell Dupree, Hathaway’s arrangement takes the song into an entirely new area, making it his own. While you can’t deny the greatness of Lennon’s composition, comparing his own reedy vocal with Hathaway’s soaring interpretation at the very least unfair. While ‘Jealous Guy’ was released on 45 – paired with a studio recording, ‘Giving Up’ from 1971’s ‘Donny Hathaway’ LP – I would suggest picking up the reissue of the ‘Live’ LP. It’s a truly amazing album and a great introduction to his sound.

Joe Tex - I Gotcha

2006-05-26T10:30:00.000-04:00

The Electrifying Joe Tex!

Oh dear.... It is Friday, and it is also creeping up on the first big holiday weekend of the summer, but I sit here, feeling burnt (and I don’t even drink). It’s not work. If anything this has been an average week. Not too much insanity. I was sick, but I am feeling better. I dunno... I’m sure as the day goes on, and 4:30 gets closer, and I realize that I can drag my ass out of bed tomorrow whenever the hell I feel like it, the attractiveness of the vista before me will improve exponentially. I’m sitting here listening to a compilation of Syl Johnson’s Twinight recordings and realizing that he’s just another fantastic singer that I need to dig a little harder. Sure, I have a couple of his 45s, but I never realized how powerful some of the records he recorded in Chicago were. One of the songs I’ve really been digging this past year is Jamaican singer Ken Boothe’s fantastic cover of Johnson’s magnum opus ‘Is It Because I’m Black’. Where Johnson’s original is a soulful as it gets (and oft covered elsewhere) Boothe’s reading, over a hypnotic reggae beat really takes things to an entirely different level. I have to admit, that while I have long loved ska, rock steady and reggae, I have few originals in my crates, largely because the world of Jamaican vinyl is as confusing as it gets, and really ought to be left to dedicated aficionados. Though I am occasionally driven to track down (and pay for) originals (mostly Hammond stuff like the Federalmen and Winston Wright), I know where my bread and butter lies, and wisely stick to what I know. Fortunately there is a ton (probably a few tons) of great, inexpensive reissues of Jamaican music - notably the Trojan “boxes”; each thematically presented (i.e. Mod Reggae, Sixties, Dub etc) with three cardboard sleeved CDs per box, generally clocking it and under $20 per set. I have several of these and recommend them highly. You should also seek out the comp ‘Darker Then Blue: Soul From Jamdown 1973-1980’, which features the aforementioned Ken Boothe track as well as many other high quality numbers (especially Tinga Stewart’s amazing cover of Timmy Thomas’s ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’). And now, we approach and unexpected bend in the stream of consciousness (not unexpected to me, but it is after all my stream...). Today’s selection will likely be familiar to you if you were either listening to the radio in 1972, or are currently own a TV. I fall into both categories. It was only a few months ago when a commercial came on TV, for the latest and greatest bastardization of Dr. Pepper (long one of my favorite sodas – when I was still drinking soda). It was some kind of insane, tutti-frutti black cherry cream soda mixture, but the product in question is irrelevant, because what got my attention was the music they were using to sell the stuff. There, pouring from my TV speakers was a very familiar, undeniably funky song. I knew the song, but I couldn’t remember who it was or where I’d heard it. So I cast my net into the interweb, and in a few short minutes my memory was refreshed and I was looking for yet another record. The song in question is Joe Tex’s 1972 smash (R&B #1, Pop #2) ‘I Gotcha’. Whether or not the use of this fine funky song was some kind of insider tribute to the fact that both Joe Tex and Dr. Pepper both hailed from Texas, I can’t be sure. However, there is no denying that ‘I Gotcha’ is the kind of song that is guaranteed to grab you by the ears (if not by the butt). It’s got Joe’s wild vocals, a supremely funky beats and some very tasty breakdowns (with drums that sound like they inspired the breaks on the Soul Searcher’s much sampled ‘Ashley’s Roachclip’).

I mean, honestly, when you hear the man go,

Kiss me!

Hold it a long time, HOLD IT!

Turn it a-loose!

HOLD IT!

A little bit longer now!

HOLD IT! HOLD IT! HOLD IT!

...even if you're suspicious about what exactly it is he wants you to hold, you have to dig it.

If’n you aren’t hep to Joe Tex, it’s not your fault. Despite having waxed a very hot stack of vinyl in his tragically short 49 years on the sphere, he remains tragically under-listened-to. As I said last week about Solomon Burke, Tex is one of those guys that ought to be up there with the Reddings and the Picketts of the world, but is mostly the property of old-schoolers and soul fanatics. He had a long string of R&B (and occasionally Pop) hits between 1960 and 1977 (almost all for the Dial label), laying down several classics like ‘Show Me’, ‘Skinny Legs and All’, today’s selection and his last big hit ‘Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)’. I remember seeing him on some awards show (probably the Grammys) performing that last number, flanked (appropriately) by two ample honeys. I didn’t know much of anything about Joe Tex at the time, but my 15 year old self had to respect the game. I said that I went looking for the record, and was able to score a nice clean copy of the LP for three whole dollars. Given the size of the hit, I suspect you wouldn’t have too much trouble grabbing your own copy of the LP or the 45 at a similarly bargain-basement price. If you wish to get an overview of his many successes, there is also a budget reissue that covers most of his best sides, from the early 60’s all the way to the end.

NOTE: I'll be taking Monday off for the holiday. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you on Wednesday.

Funky16Corners Radio #3 - Soul Food (That's What I Like) Pt1

2006-05-24T12:07:00.000-04:00

Track listing

Brother Jack McDuff – Hot Barbecue (Prestige) Soul Runners – Chittlin’ Salad Pt1 (MoSoul) Lionel Hampton - Greasy Greens (GladHamp) Albert Collins – Cookin’ Catfish (20th Century) Andre Williams – Rib Tips (Avin) Maurice Simon & The Pie Men – Sweet Potato Gravy (Carnival) Mel Brown – Chicken Fat (Impulse) Lonnie Youngblood – Soul Food (That’s What I Like) (Fairmount) Prime Mates – Hot Tamales (Sansu) Just Brothers – Sliced Tomatoes (Music Merchant) Leon Haywood – Cornbread and Buttermilk (Decca) Bobby Rush – Chicken Heads (Galaxy) Booker T & The MGs – Jelly Bread (Stax) Gentleman June Gardner – Mustard Greens (Blue Rock) West Siders – Candy Yams (Infinity) Hank Jacobs – Monkey Hips and Rice (Sue) George Semper – Collard Greens (Imperial) Billy Clark & His Orchestra – Hot Gravy (Dynamo) Hello everybody. Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the institution formerly known as the Funky16Corners Mix, to be know henceforth as Funky16Corners Radio (for no reason other than I like the way that sounds better). The mixes have proven to be very popular, and I’m having a hard time deciding whether or not to continue this feature on a weekly basis or back off to a fortnightly schedule. The main concern therein is matters of bandwidth. Because of the size of the files and the frequency at which they are downloaded I’m afraid if I keep doing this every week I’m going to run out of bandwidth and the whole shebang is going to collapse. In order to avoid such a calamity I’ll probably drop back to a new installment every two weeks, maintaining the normal one (or two) song entries in between. Today’s selection is the first of two parts (which will not run consecutively) of a restructuring of some mixes I made for friends a few years ago. The title (and a quick look at the playlist) ought to clear things up, but if you’re not firing on all cylinders, suffice to say that all of the songs have something to do with food, of the soulful variety. Be forewarned....the music you are about to listen to will in all likelihood propel you from your chair, after which you will shimmy/shake/slide into the front seat of your car, turn the key and burn rubber to the nearest rib shack to satisfy the craving. Now, I personally wish you would sit through the entire playlist, but some things cannot be helped. Things get off to a nice, greasy start with Hammond master Brother Jack McDuff’s 1965 burner ‘Hot Barbecue’. From the LP of the same name – which features a full color picture of Brother Jack digging into a full rack of ribs – ‘Hot Barbecue’ is a full out soul jazz mover . The Soul Runners (later to morph into the Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band) serve up a side of ‘Chittlin’ Salad’, a deeply atmospheric grinder with blaring sax-o-ma-phone, harmonica, and wailing organ. Recorded for the LA based MoSoul label, all of their 45s are worth digging up, esp ‘Charley’ which was also released on the Keymen label under the Watts 103rd name with a different flipside.

Now, if you flinched when you saw the name of old-timey jazzbo Lionel Hampton on the list, I can’t blame you, but once you’ve heard the aptly titled ‘Greasy Greens’, you’ll be out digging for your own copy. Hampton had a renaissance of sorts in the late 60’s, recording some great soulful and funky instros for his own GladHamp label, and later for Brunswick.

I ran down the Albert Collins story over at the Funky16Corners web zine a while back, and anyone that thinks he was just a blues player needs to have their ears bent back by 1968’s ‘Cookin’ Catfish’. His sole 45 for the 20th Century label, it was later included on one of his Imperial LPs under the title ‘Doin’ Our Thing’. Those that detect a certain Booker T & The MGs flavor have a highly developed sense of the obvious... To state that ‘Rib Tips’ is a “typical” Andre Williams side might be misleading, because there was hardly anything typical about Williams. Resembling the title character of his own funky 45 ‘Cadillac Jack’, Williams was (and is) the Mack, one of the great movers and shakers of R&B, soul and funk and his 45s should be grabbed whenever they are encountered. ‘Rib Tips’ has a Junior Walker-ish flair to it, with Mr. Williams interrupting the proceedings periodically to request a toothpick, offer to share his ribs, or just scream out ‘Rib Tips!’. They just don’t make records like this anymore. I don’t know much about Maurice Simon & The Pie Men, other than their 1967 single ‘The Git Go’ b/w ‘Sweet Potato Gravy’ is a smoking hot two-sider (‘The Git Go’ being a tasty Hammond mover), and that both sides of the 45 were recycled as flip sides for other Carnival 45s. ‘Sweet Potato Gravy’ was re-used no less than three times, backing sides by Rene Bailey and two Pretenders 45s. After doing time in the backing bands of Johnny Otis and Etta James, Mel Brown made a series of fine funky guitar LPs for Impulse in the late 60’s. ‘Chicken Fat’ is the title track from his 1967 solo debut. If you dig this, you should seek out his supremely funky (and break laden) 1968 45 ‘Swamp Fever’ (which has a tasty version of ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ on the flip). ‘Soul Food (That’s What I Like)’ may be the finest record ever recorded on the subject. Featuring the vocals of the mighty Lonnie Youngblood, and guitar provided by none other that Jimi Hendrix, it features Mr. Youngblood positively drooling over “ ‘Taters and ‘Maters”, hog maws, collard greens and things of that nature. One of his two 45s for the storied Philadelphia label Fairmount, it ought to be required listening for fans of mid-60’s soul.

The Prime Mates ‘Hot Tamales Pts 1&2’ was one of the grittiest sides to come out on Allen Toussaint’s New Orleans label Sansu (a personal favorite). Led by Toussaint’s former Stokes bandmate Al Fayard, ‘Hot Tamales’ likely features a collection of Sansu all-stars. The fuzz guitar (strangely de-fuzzed in Part 2) riffs over a bed of organ, bass and drums, with someone shouting for ‘Hot Tamales’. Not an easy record to find, but when it does show up, is surprisingly affordable.

If ‘Sliced Tomatoes’ rings a bell, it’s because Fatboy Slim lifted the guitar riff for his huge hit ‘Rockafella Skank’. The original was waxed by Detroit’s Just Brothers and was for years a big fave with the Northern Soul crowd in the UK. The label says that the cut is from an LP, but I don’t know anyone that’s ever seen it. Leon Haywood, who had a run of smooth soul hits in the 70’s had a lesser known (but far tastier) past as a purveyor of sweet soul (‘It’s Got To Be Mellow’) and organ instros in the 60’s. he recorded a number of excellent instros for the Fat Fish, Convoy and Decca labels. ‘Cornbread and Buttermilk’ was the b-side of ‘It’s Got To be Mellow’ which grazed the Top 40 in 1967. Bobby Rush has had a long career recording R&B, blues, southern soul and the occasional funk side. ‘Chicken Heads’ is a slow, funky number with some tasty wah-wah guitar. If you caught his act on the PBS Blues series, you know that he still puts on one of the wildest shows around. I’m not sure, but I suspect that when he’s talking about chicken in this tune, he’s not really talking about “chicken”, if you know what I mean... Booker T Jones, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn and Al Jackson were not only Booker T & The Mgs, but they were the core of the Stax records “house” band and appear on a ton of legendary 45s and Lps. ‘Jelly Bread’ doesn’t stray too far ‘Green Onions’ territory, but has a much grittier edge to it with some excellent distorted guitar. Gentleman June Gardner was one of the great New Orleans drummers/bandleaders, who recorded a 45s for a number of different labels as well as a full LP for Emarcy. ‘Mustard Greens’, which was a showcase for Gardner’s drums, was the b-side of his one Blue Rock 45. Gardner also wrote and recorded the original version of ‘It’s Gonna Rain’ which Sonny & Cher recorded as the b-side of ‘I Got You Babe’ . I know practically nothing about the West Siders. I found this 45 digging in Boston years ago, and dig the bluesy edge as well as the grinding sax solo. Hank Jacobs made a grip of tasty Hammond and piano instrumentals for the Sue and Call me labels, including the Northern Soul rarity ‘Elijah Rockin’ With Soul’. ‘Monkey Hips and Rice’ was the flip side of ‘So Far Away’ on Sue, and it has lots of greasy organ, some great soul shouting and – I assume – Jacobs doubling his organ line on piano. It’s a real party-starter. George Semper was a California based organist, who recorded a fantastic LP for Imperial (‘Makin’ Waves’) in the late 60’s. ‘Collard Greens’ was on one of the 45s from that LP. He went on to form the George Semper Rhythm Committee who waxed a funky cover of the Isley Brothers ‘It’s Your Thing’. If you dig ‘Collard Greens’ and want to grab the LP, keep an eye out for the original, as the reissue was poorly done and had horrible sound quality. The closing track is by another artist I know little about, Billy Clark & His Orchestra. The flip side of the Hammond mover ‘Hot Gravy’ was a vocal by Lucille Brown, with a reworking of their labelmates Maskman & The Agents ‘One Eye Open’ as ‘Both Eyes Open’.

Server Trouble - SOLVED!

2006-05-23T09:57:00.000-04:00

The server, she is back! - The Management PS Due to popular demand, I have reposted the links for the Philly Funk Mix. Go nuts.

Arthur Alexander - You Better Move On b/w A Shot of Rhythm & Blues

2006-05-22T12:39:00.000-04:00

Arthur Alexander

Greetings all. Let me start off by assuring you that I feel about as good/bad, as anyone starting off the work week does. I had a great weekend, got a lot accomplished and topped it all off with a decent night’s sleep. So, I hunker down with my raw material for the next few weeks and I can’t decide what to write about. I have some excellent stuff lined up, including a few new mixes, and my first reaction was to go for the easiest/hottest side first. However.... Despite all indications to the contrary, somewhere buried deep in my subconscious mind – hanging around like a panhandler at a bus station – there reside vestigial traces of the Protestant work ethic (probably traceable to my once-Protestant great grandfather). When I was a younger man, faced with a choice between the easy way out and the “responsible”, I would – following the laws of physics – go with the flow. You know, the “no pain, no pain” philosophy. However (again).... As I got older, faced with similar situations, I began to realize that facing the difficult tasks first, i.e. refusing to forestall the inevitable, had a certain kind of karmic grace to it, and I almost always ended up feeling better in the end. And what does this have to do with anything? Well, when I gather material for the blog – usually a few weeks worth at a time – I often end up with an unused track or two. Sometimes this is because I have some newer stuff that I’m chomping at the bit to post, but more often than not it’s due to the fact that what was “grabbing” me a few weeks ago, may not be grabbing me today. While the basic quality of said tracks is rarely in dispute, the writing that goes along with each and every blog post requires a certain level of inspiration and excitement, and that is not always there when I need it. Let’s see. I’ve been listening to the songs of Arthur Alexander since I bought my very first LP at the age of 12. Back then (1974) it was possible to purchase records in all kinds of strange places. I know that my Dad still has records somewhere (probably Christmas albums) with grocery store price stickers on them and I’ve come across 45s with all kinds of crazy stickers on them (including one from a Canadian beauty salon). That storied day in ’74 (a Sunday) my father and I had taken a walk after church to the local soda fountain. The area where I grew up, in Central New Jersey was at the time right on the leading edge of suburban encroachment on rural America, and right there, butting up on our 1965 era subdivision was a little slice of small town America: the borough of Englishtown. This was the little “Main Street” that lay at the core of the larger township, where farmland was being converted at an accelerated pace into housing developments. At the time, even though we had the “primitive” version of shopping malls popping up along the highway, you still had to go into Englishtown to go to church, shop for groceries, get your mail (or if your house was burning down, call the fire department). So, after church, we headed over to “Joes” (no kidding...) for a cherry coke, and right there, in the front of the store was a wire rack full of LPs. As I’ve said here before, I grew up with all kinds of music in the house. My Dad is an accomplished piano player (his ivory-tickling providing important supplemental income over the years) and taught me everything I know about really appreciating music. By the time I was 12, I had a more than passing acquaintance with classical music and jazz than most kids my age, but by then there was something else driving my love of music. The Beatles. At the age of 12 I was a certified Beatles nut, so when I walked into Joes and saw a copy of the VeeJay ‘Introducing the Beatles’ LP, my wig – as they used to say – was flipped. I can’t remember exactly how it was I convinced my father to purchase the record (though I may have had some confirmation money burning a hole in my pocket), but the end result was that I walked out of Joes that day with the first record I ever “collected”. I proceeded to play the hell out of that album, to the point where 30 years on I could still probably sing it back to you note for note (not that anyone needs to hear that). One of my favorite numbers on the album was a tune called ‘Anna’. It wasn’t until years later that I realized how many of the songs on that album were actually covers of US soul and R&B numbers by artists like the Shirelles (‘Boys’) the Cookies (‘Chains’) and the writer and performer of ‘Anna’, Arthur Alexander. Alexander didn’t really make a dent in my musical consciousness until the late 1980’s when I first read Peter Guralnick’s ‘Sweet Soul Music’ (one of the finest books ever written on the subject of Soul and R&B). Guralnick described in-depth Alexander’s struggle between his obvious talent and ongoing difficulties bad luck and illness. Alexander recorded ‘You Better Move On’ and ‘A Shot of Rhythm & Blues’ with Rick Hall in 1962. The success of ‘You Better Move On’, which grazed the Top 20 bankrolled the expansion of the Hall’s operation into the famed Muscle Shoals recording studio. Alexander’s songs were a dynamic mix of country and R&B sounds that along with his emotional voice made for some of the best (and best loved) records of the Southern Soul era. Though Alexander didn’t experience a lot of chart success with his songs, others did, notably the Beatles (who covered by ‘Anna’ and ‘Soldier of Love’) and the Rolling Stones who recorded their own version of ‘You Better Move On’. ‘You Better Move On’, like ‘Anna’ is a slow, pleading heartbreaker with a subdued arrangement that provided a showcase for Alexander’s vocals. I’d go as far to say that the Stones gave the tune a grittier reading, filtering out some of Alexander’s country feel. ‘ A Shot of Rhythm & Blues’ is a much livelier record, and was arguably the most popular number with his British admirers, having been performed (but never commercially released) by the Beatles, and recorded by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Gerry & the Pacemakers and Cilla Black. The tune, written by Fame Studios rhythm section member Terry Thompson, sees Alexander in a rocking mode. Alexander went on to record sporadically through the 60’s and 70’s for Sound Stage 7, Warner Brothers, Buddah and finally Elektra/Asylum before he passed away on 1993. Much of Arthur Alexander’s best work has seen reissue over the years, including some great unreleased material. The best place to start is the Ace records ‘Best of’, and then on to the Monument/SS7 recordings.

Howard Tate, The James Gang, and Other Things...

2006-05-19T12:02:00.000-04:00

Howard Tate and the Superconk!

Hello. It’s Friday morning and my brain is as frayed and scuffed (but not quite as green) as an old tennis ball, so you will forgive me if the prose accompanying today’s selection isn’t up to my usual “high” standards. Fortunately, the song I’m posting today is energetic enough to propel me right out of my hole and inspire me (to what I’m still not sure). The story starts some years ago, before I had any idea who Howard Tate was. Though I’ve rolled the idea around in my head repeatedly, I’m still not 100% sure that I shouldn’t have been ashamed of myself for that particular lapse. I have a tendency to immerse myself deeply (like Journey to the Center of the Earth deeply) in the music I listen to, and at the time (say 10 or so years ago) it’s possible (nay probable) that Howard Tate was only unknown to me because I was chasing something more obscure down a figurative rabbit hole, again missing the forest for the trees. The scene was a barbecue/beer blast type gathering of many of my old Mod-scene cohorts, gathered congenially, some more persistently Mod than others (many having shed their paisley camouflage, others reluctant to do so). That last fact is relevant only in that “scenes” like the one I was part of relish authenticity and faithfulness to a certain musical path, and I was on the verge of revealing a deviation from said path. It helps to know that I was generally four or five years older than many of my friends from that scene, and as a result came into the 60’s mod/soul/garage/psyche thing with a fair amount of hard musical road already traveled. Whereas many of these folks came of age musically during the 80’s – many influenced by the UK mod revival – I had already undergone that process in the mid-to-late 70’s. Where they may have dipped their ears in the Jam, TwoTone bands and the like, I had been baptized in a pool full of Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath etc. As a result, the rock upon which my musical church was built was considerably “harder” than most, and acknowledgement of that fact was – shall we say – unfashionable. So, the party was well underway, much tasty English beer had been consumed (along with hamburgers, hot dogs, and chips, potato and otherwise), and the host had popped on a mix tape. Because he was himself a heavyweight collector-type, the tunes on the tape were all high-quality, many of them hopelessly obscure. As I sat there with my beer in hand, I heard a tune that seemed familiar, but in far off, can’t quite grasp it way. Though it was immediately obvious to me that I had heard the song somewhere before, it was also obvious that I had no idea where. It was one of those things where you know the answer is in your brain somewhere, yet it’s apparently taped up in a dusty box, under a pile of boxes, in an unlit corner of your mental attic. So I asked my host who the artist was, and he hepped me to the fact that I was listening to ‘Stop’ by one Howard Tate. As I said before, this meant almost nothing to me at the time. I told him that I knew the song from somewhere else, but couldn’t remember where. He couldn’t recall ever having heard another version of the tune, nor could anyone else sitting at the picnic table. Naturally, I proceeded to ruin my good time by obsessing (internally of course) over where I had heard this song before. I have a tendency – especially as I get older and I shed brain cells with increasing frequency – to get into dilemmas like this and not let go until I come upon the answer, or just get too tired and/or frustrated to give a shit (though the unanswered question has a sneaky habit of popping back up days later). So, as I rummaged through my cerebral rubbish-heap, tossing obscure and disconnected factoids here and there in my search for a relevant link – with music and conversation running in the background, repeatedly derailing my train of thought – until I realized that I could either drive myself nuts, or stop and have a good time. The beer in me decided on the latter. For a few minutes anyway. Then something – I’m not sure what – dislodged the piece of information I’d been looking for, and there, right in front of everyone, I blurted out two strange words. “James Gang!” To those that were listening, this produced only wrinkled brows and rolled eyes. “The James Gang! That’s who did that Howard Tate song. The James Gang.” Then I had to explain who the James Gang was, in terms that sadly cast my revelation in an unfortunate light. I had to draw a line connecting Joe Walsh – well known and universally reviled by my friends as the weirdo from the dreaded Eagles – to his early days in the James Gang. That the James Gang hailed from the 60’s mattered not a whit, because they were not from the Beatle-boot, pageboy haircut 60’s, but rather from the buckskin jacketed, ‘Goin’ Up The Country’, FAAARRR OUUTTT end of the decade aka The Land of the ‘Dirty Hippies’. Having been immersed for most of my high school years in music of a similar vintage, I held no such distaste for that time. In fact, I kind of liked that era, long hair, Woodstock mud and all of its ‘Come on people now, smile on your brother-isms. My enthusiasm was not shared. Despite the momentary discomfort, this did not rise to the level of a serious faux pas, though I’m positive that at that moment I had spent some hard-earned credibility. Today, many years removed, I realize that any “cred” lost that day was well spent, because I now realize that pigeon-holing oneself musically is neither wise not productive, and that posturing on such an ill-founded basis as that is - to be charitable - foolish. I have always existed in a universe that fits both the Howard Tate-esque and the James Gangs of the world comfortably (in fact the music I listen to on a daily basis is much further apart stylistically than the comparably miniscule gap between Tate and Joe Walsh), but here in my early 40’s I feel much more comfortable admitting that fact. One of the cool things to come out of my introduction to Howard Tate that day (aside from all his great music) is that it made me dig the James Gang version a little bit more. It was only in the last few years, when I replaced my long lost (and liner-note free) ‘James Gang Greatest Hits’ CD with a current reissue of their debut LP ‘Yer Album’, that I discovered that the Gang’s recording of ‘Stop’ included the tune’s composer (and producer of Howard Tate’s version) Jerry Ragavoy, on piano. To some that fact may be neither here nor there, but for me it’s just one more interconnecting fiber in the grand musical web holding my brain together. Ragavoy (along with lyricist Mort Shuman) wrote many of Howard Tate’s finest Verve sides, including the monumental ‘Get It While You Can’ (covered by yet another hippy-era icon, Janis Joplin). It was the pop edge that Ragavoy brought to his work with Tate, combined with Tate’s deep soulfulness that made their collaborations so good. ‘Stop’, which was a Top20 R&B hit in early 1968, starts out as a mid-tempo shuffle, and builds gradually – by virtue of Tate’s increasing fervor – into a vocal tour de force. It’s hard for me to listen to a record like this and realize that Tate languished in obscurity for decades prior to his recent “rediscovery”. He was a dynamic soul singer, who had the advantage of some amazing material, yet still didn’t make much of a connection with the listening public. While his story isn’t unique, in his case it is especially galling. Fortunately, much of his best work, for the Verve and Turntable labels is available in reissue, as are his two recent LPs, ‘Rediscovered’ and ‘Live’.

Funky16Corners Mix v.2 - Sookie!

2006-05-17T12:03:00.000-04:00

The Mighty Hannibal, Andre Williams,

Chuck Edwards and Mickey Lee Lane.

Track listing Roy Thompson - Sookie Sookie (Okeh)

Andre Williams - Pearl Time (Sport)

Cha Cha Hogan - Grit Gitter (Soulville)

Mighty Hannibal - Jerkin' The Dog (Shurfine)

Mickey Lee Lane - Hey Sah-Lo-Ney (Swan)

Charles Kynard - Here Now! (World Pacific)

Bobby Parker - Watch Your Step (V-Tone)

Teddy & The Fingerpoppers - Soul Groove Pt1 (Arctic)

Don Gardner - My Baby Likes To Boogaloo (TruGloTown)

Johnny Jones & The King Casuals - It's Gonna Be Good (Brunswick)

Flamingos - The Boogaloo Party (philips)

David Rockingham Trio - Soulful Chant (Josie)

Gate Wesley & Band feat. Billy LaMont - (Zap Pow) Do The Batman (Atlantic)

Roy Lee Johnson - Boogaloo #3 (Josie)

Chuck Edwards - Downtown Soulville (Punch)

Sir Latimore Brown - Shake and Vibrate (SS7)

Perry & The Harmonics - Do The Monkey With James (Mercury)

Greetings fellow soul fans. It’s Wednesday again, and I bring you another mix. I know I said something along the lines of “every couple of weeks”, but I got an itchy trigger finger so I decided to do it now (post a mix, that is..). This time out, it’s a kind of R&B, soul, proto-funk mixed bag, most of the material hailing from the middle of the 60’s (with a few notable exceptions). The heads in the crowd with the deeper crates may – upon their initial perusal of the playlist – spot what seem like stylistic incongruities, but let me assure you: once you hear these vinyl delicacies rubbing up against one another like perverts in a sweaty subway car, all will be revealed. I figured I’d open things up with bang, dropping Roy Thompson’s 1967 cover of Don Covay’s mighty ‘Sookie Sookie’. Other than the fact that the record charted briefly in January of 1967, and that it sounds like Roy was listening to a lot of Jr. Walker and the All Stars 45s, I haven’t been able to track down any other info. Since all the evidence for the greatness of this disc resides in the grooves, all you really need to know will be revealed as it plays. If you aren’t already familiar with the mighty Andre Williams, performer, writer, producer extraordinaire and all around slick operator, you should get with the program. Most of his records are both deadly and cheap (an uncommon combination), are redolent of bacon grease, fortified wine and Cadillacs, and should be collected with as much speed as you can muster. ‘Pearl Time’ is a grooving, half-spoken, double-entendre filled dance-craze number from 1967.

Released on the Harrisburg, PA Soulville label, ‘Grit Gitter’ by Cha Cha Hogan is actually a Detroit record. Hogan, who recorded R&B sides for the Star Talent and Great Lakes labels (among others) also recorded a comedy album for the Laff label, and appeared on a few episodes of Sanford and Son (no, I’m not making that up). ‘Grit Gitter’ is a laid back, subtly funky piano instro. Cha Cha ended up working lounges in Las Vegas.

If you weren’t already awake, the lightning-bolt strains of the Mighty Hannibal’s ‘Jerkin’ The Dog’ ought to get you off your ass. Hannibal (aka James Shaw) was an Atlanta soul singer with a sideline as a pimp, who descended into drugs and survived, coming out the other side intact (and funky). 1965’s ‘Jerkin’ The Dog’ is a party starter, floor-filler, foot-stomper etc, with musical backing from the band St. John & The Cardinals.

Mickey Lee Lane’s 1965 ‘Hey Sah Lo Ney’ – despite being soulful by association only– fits into the mix nicely. It has an all-around manic feel, propelled by heavily distorted guitar and an extra-chunky horn section. Lane recorded a number of 45s for the Swan label in the mid-60’s. ‘Hey Sah Lo Ney’, which became popular with the UK mod/soul crown was covered (as ‘Hey Sha-lo-ney’) by The Action, perhaps the most soulful English band of the 60’s. Prepare yourself, because Charles Kynard’s ‘Hey Now!’ is a jet-propelled Hammond instro, engineered to peel the wallflowers out of their seats and onto the floor. A non-Lp b-side from the sessions for his 1963 LP ‘Where It’s At’ (the title tune is it’s a-side) is one of my fave Hammond sides. After his one LP for Pacific Jazz, Kynard went on to make a grip of high-quality soul jazz and funk Lps for Prestige and Mainstream.

Bobby Parker’s mighty ‘Watch Your Step’ is the earliest record in this set, hailing from 1961. If it sounds at all familiar, keep in mind that it’s the framework borrowed (admittedly) by the Beatles for ‘Day Tripper’ and ‘I Feel Fine’ and by Led Zeppelin for ‘Moby Dick’. Released on Philadelphia’s V-Tone label, the record was released twice in the UK, on London in 1961 and on Sue in 1964. Parker still plays and records today. I can’t tell you much about Teddy and the Fingerpoppers ‘Soul Groove Pt1’ other than the fact that it was a 1968 on the legendary Philly label Arctic (home to the Volcanos and Ambassadors among others) and was co-written by label owner (and popular local DJ) Jimmy Bishop and Jesse James.

‘My Baby Likes To Boogaloo’ by Don Gardner is one of those records that packs about a crates-worth of energy into a single 45. Gardner sounds like he’s buckled into a straight-jacket, and the raw guitar and pounding drums make for a lethal combination. Gardner, who had a long and illustrious R&B career from the early 50’s on, is best known for his duets with Dee Dee Ford. ‘My Baby Likes To Boogaloo’ was covered later that same year (1966) by Pennsylvania’s Emperors. The Emperors’ version may be less explosive, but it has it’s own unique charm and is well worth checking out.

Johnny Jones and the King Casuals are best know in some circles for the fact that Jimi Hendrix (and his Band of Gypsies cohort Billy Cox) both did time in their ranks (though they never recorded with the band). Nashville-based Jones had been the bandleader on Hoss Allen’s R&B/soul TV show ‘The Beat!’. The King Casuals recorded three 45s for Brunswick in 1968 and 1969 (some originally issued on the Peachtree label), including a wild cover of ‘Purple Haze’.

In case you were wondering, the Flamingos who recorded ‘Boogaloo Party’ are in fact the same group that recorded one of the greatest harmony records of all time, the brilliant ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’. By the time ‘The Boogaloo Party’ was released in 1966, some of the original members had moved on, but the group was still led by the Carey brothers. They went on to record the excellent – and funky – ‘Heavy Hips’ for the Ronze label. Though I don’t have much info on the David Rockingham Trio, it’s certainly not for lack of trying. They hit the charts briefly in 1963 with ‘Dawn’ on Josie, and had at least two other 45s on that label, including 1964’s savage ‘Soulful Chant’. They also had 45s on the Ritetrack and Dee Dee labels, all in a similar greasy, R&B style.

Released in 1966’s wave of Batman cash-in records, Gate Wesley & Band’s ‘(Zap Pow) Do the Batman’ is a nasty little slice of soul, that sounds like it was recorded with the entire band inside the bass drum. Lead vocals were supplied by R&B veteran Billy LaMont, who went on to record the funky ‘Sweet Thang’ for 20th Century, with none other than Jimi Hendrix on lead guitar.

Roy Lee Johnson’s 1966 ‘Boogaloo #3’ is another Atlanta-based record, and is a wicked-hot mod-soul mover. Johnson got his start as the lead vocalist on Dr. Feelgood & the Interns ‘Mr Moonlight’ (Okeh) which was later covered by the Beatles.

I have to start out my description of Chuck Edwards ‘Downtown Soulville’ by stating that it is one of my four or five favorite soul records, ever. Edwards, who made his first record in 1953, and continued recording through the 50’s for labels like Duke and Apollo. He later returned to western Pennsylvania and recorded a number of great R&B and soul sides on his own Rene and Punch labels, including ‘Bullfight’ which was picked up for national distribution by Roulette in 1966. The mighty ‘Downtown Soulville’ was released in 1967, and reissued in the UK on Dave Godin’s Soul City label a year later. The tune features Edwards vocals and guitar and like many of his mid-60’s sides has an almost garagey edge to it. Edwards later relocated to California, where he recorded with his family band The Edwards Generation. Sir Latimore Brown recorded seven 45s for the Sound Stage 7 label between 1965 and 1968 (some as just ‘Latimore Brown’). 1966’s ‘Shake and Vibrate’ is the hottest of them all. VIBE-A-RATE, indeed.

The final number in today’s mix is a killer (why would it be any other way) and a longtime personal fave. ‘Do The Monkey With James’ by Perry and the Harmonics manages to be both one of the greatest 60’s Hammond sides, and a mid-60’s Spy-craze novelty. Featuring vocal contributions by R&B hitmaker Ed Townsend, and organ by Richard McRea (“Perry” is saxophonist Clarence Perry), ‘Do The Monkey With James’ starts out slow and sinister, and then explodes into a piece of dancefloor madness. The LP can be pricey, but it’s easier to track down than the 45 (which is worth whatever they happen to be charging for it).

The Intruders - A Love That's Real

2006-05-15T22:47:00.000-04:00

The Intruders

So here we are, it’s Monday night, long past the usual Funky16Corners “bedtime”. I generally like to get the entries posted fairly early so that the desk jockeys of the world (starting with the East-coasters) can grab a dose of soul with the soul-destroying cubicle-tainted air they (we) have to breathe all day long. However, family obligations kept me quite busy during the daylight hours, and it was only after sending the little Funky16Corners dude off to dreamland that I was able to sit down and start laying down today’s groove. And a groove it is. Regular visitors to this space will already be aware that although the corners around here are labeled “funky”, the music that we feature has run the gamut from raw R&B, hard-hitting funkers, Northern Soul, and the occasional ballad. Today, I’m adding sweet soul to the menu, and with any luck it will become a regular entry on the specials board. I’ve stated preciously that I am a Philly Soul fiend, and you just can’t dig the sounds of Philadelphia without hitting a deep, deep vein of sweet soul. Beginning in the mid-60’s groups like the Four Larks, the Formations and the Ethics recorded some of the finest group soul sides, laying the groundwork for the early-70’s explosion of Philadelphia-based harmony soul (which is what folks usually think of when they hear the words “Philly Soul”). The group that really started that revolution (at the hands of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff) was the Intruders. Formed in the early 60’s as a doo-wop group, the Intruders, Sam “Little Sonny” Brown, Phil Terry, Robert Edwards and Eugene Daughtry recorded locally for Gowen Records, and nationally for Musicor before signing with the fledgling Gamble records in 1965. They had their first R&B Top 20 hit in 1966, ‘(We’ll Be) United’, and for the next few years, as Phil Terry was quoted in 1975’s ‘The Sound of Philadelphia’, the Intruders “…were Gamble Records.” They released their first LP, ‘The Intruders are Together’ in 1967, and managed to place records in the R&B Top 40 with regularity. Their tight harmonies, along with outstanding Gamble/Huff songs and production made some of the finest soul sides of the era, including upbeat Northern-styled cuts (like '(You'd Better) Check Yourself') , ballads and sunny, pop-inflected harmony numbers. The finest example of the latter is today’s selection ‘A Love That’s Real’. Strangely enough, it was the flip side of ‘A Love That’s Real’, ‘Baby I’m Lonely’ that was released first, and ultimately had a better run on the charts. ‘Baby I’m Lonely’ made it to R&B #28 in September of 1967. It wasn’t until the end of 1967 that DJs started to flip the record over, with ‘A Love That’s Real’ making it up to R&B #38 in early 1968. Opening with the group imitating wedding bells over a smooth, string-laden arrangement, the verse comes in on a strong beat, with tightly arranged horns and guitar bubbling under the Intruders’ ringing harmonies. The lyrics, mentioning Jack & Jill, Romeo & Juliet and Cinderella are delivered with Little Sonny’s distinctive lead. ‘A Love That’s Real’ - and many of the other early sides by the Intruders – are an important bridge between 60’s group soul and the slicker, smooth sounds that Gamble and Huff would create a few years later. It’s interesting that the Intruders very next single, ‘Cowboys to Girls’, was their biggest hit (R&B #1, Pop #6) and the record that really ignited the Philly Soul revolution (allowing Gamble and Huff to launch Philadelphia International).Between 1966 and 1975 the Intruders placed 24 records in the Top 100 (most of them in the Top 40), all but two of them for Gamble (the last two for TSOP). In 1970, Little Sonny was replaced by Bobby Starr, but returned in 1973, bringing the group back into the Top 10 with ‘I’ll Always Love My Mama’. They broke up a few years later, with Little Sonny Brown eventually losing his battle with substance abuse some years later.

If you dig these sounds, the Intruders 45s (even the earlier Gamble sides) aren't too hard to come by, and their best stuff is available in reissue.

The Artwoods Meet Solomon Burke & Benny Spellman

2006-05-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

The Artwoods

Solomon Burke

Hey look...it’s Friday. That kind of snuck up on me. First and foremost, let me begin by saying thanks for all the positive feedback on the first Funky16Corners mix. I have a couple of others ready to go for the next few weeks, and as long as you keep digging them, I’ll keep making them. If I can get my techno-shnizzle together, there may even be more sophisticated, “radio style” podcasts in our future. Today’s selections were initially only supposed to be today’s selection (in the singular), but I started to ruminate, and before I knew it the connections began to take shape, and I had to drag in a second song, if only to bring things – as they say – full circle. This particular circle begins back in the days of yore, in this case in and around 1985. That was the year that my participation in the NY/NJ Mod scene* began in earnest, bringing me in contact with all manner of hardcore record collector types, and intense Anglophiles, (switching now to bad, cigar wagging Bill Cosby imitation) with the Beatle boots, the mod clothes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs the fuzz guitar, and the flazozzle. It was through these folks that I first heard the dulcet tones of one of the great mid-60’s UK R&B bands, the Artwoods (who’s name is derived, rather cleverly from the first and last names of it’s leader, Art Wood, who’s brother Ron was at the time playing in the Birds, prior to his stints in the Jeff Beck Group and a little outfit known as the Rolling Stones). The Artwoods – which also featured future Deep Purple-ite Jon Lord on organ – were like many of their ilk, devoted to R&B, soul and blues from the USA. They were symptomatic of a larger phenomenon, in which US youths first heard many of these songs, not from the original sources, but via the interpretation of UK groups, i.e. the sounds of John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and their pals had to take a steamship to the other side of the pond, and then fly back via the British Invasion to get any play with the kids (or just about anyone else for that matter). It was true in 1965, and it was still true 20 years later when my friends and I were listening. Despite the convoluted (and somewhat depressing) nature of this phenomenon, in the end I suppose it was a good thing because those of us that took the bait and followed the Rolling Stones to Howling Wolf’s door got to hear two cool recordings, instead of just the one (if you get my drift). Whether we were on the trail because of Georgie Fame (to Billy Stewart, Joe Hinton or Gene McDaniels), the Animals (to John Lee Hooker and Nina Simone) or Them (to Jimmy Reed), the end result is that many of us found our way, eventually to the original sources (which, despite the enthusiasm of the Brits, were often far superior). In the case of the Artwoods, their cover material led home to two particularly outstanding originals. When the UK label Edsel (a mid-80’s precursor of quality reissue labels like Sundazed) released the Artwoods compilation ‘100 Oxford Street’, it became required listening for fans of UK R&B, and two of the numbers that got played and replayed frequently were ‘Keep Looking’ and ‘I Feel Good’. The first of those two numbers was originally recorded by the mighty, majestic, and ultimately soul-tastic Solomon Burke. Burke was by far one of the great soul singers of the last 50 years. Possessed of a powerful voice, capable of soaring into the stratosphere at a moments notice, King Solomon, though still performing today, is not as well known/remembered as his peers like Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. ‘Keep Looking’ opens with ordained minister Burke, taking us all to church for a few seconds with his intro:

I’m so happy to be here today And for all of you who are searching for the answers to your problems in life If you’re ready right now, we’re gonna solve’em And this is alllllll you got to do....

From there, Burke launches into full gallop, with a gusto that makes the Artwoods excellent cover seem anemic by comparison. The band is moving at a fast tempo, the guitar is twangy and there is a particularly interesting horn arrangement by LeRoy Glover. Burke just keeps building the energy until at each break he explodes with –

FAT BAM BOOM BAM SAM-A-LAM! KEEP LOOKING!

It’s a killer, definitely one of his best, and I’d go as far as to rate it as one of the great mid-60’s soul sides (it was released in 1966). It’s a guaranteed floor-filler.

The second great number I heard via the Artwoods was something of a mystery for a number of years. The writing credit on the Artwoods LP listed ‘I Feel Good’ as having been written by Naomi Neville. It was only years later, when my New Orleans mojo was considerably stronger that I came upon a Benny Spellman 45 on Ebay with the same title. A light bulb went off over my head (just like in the cartoons) when I realized that the “Naomi Neville” that puzzled me for so many years was in fact a pseudonymous Allen Toussaint. I bid on (and won) the record, and as soon as the needle hit the wax, I knew my hunch had been right. Released in 1965, first on the local ALON label, and picked up for national distribution by Atlantic, ‘I Feel Good’ was the flip side of the novelty ‘The Word Game’ (which itself was built on the recycled instrumental track from the Stokes ‘Young Man / Old Man’). Spellman’s original take on ‘I Feel Good’ is every bit as energetic as the Artwoods’ cover, but has the additional benefit of a healthy helping of New Orleans flavor – not the least of which is Toussaint’s rolling piano – and Spellman’s vocal is outstanding. He is one of the sorely under-recorded members of the Crescent City’s soul fraternity, not having recorded after the late 60’s. If you are so inclined, you ought to be able to pick up copies of these 45s in the $20 range. You would be wise to do so....'Keep Looking' does not appear to be available on any current reissues. 'I Feel Good' can be had for a mere bag of shells (see below).

Johnny Goode - Payback

2006-05-10T11:56:00.000-04:00

Sidney Barnes (aka Johnny Goode)

far right, with the Rotary Connection

When you spend as much time chasing records as I have, you develop a mental inventory that allows you to make the occasional educated guess. One of the main aspects of this inventory is to keep track of labels that basically produced nothing but soul or funk music. That way, when you find one in the field (or on E-Bay), and you haven’t heard it (and all other signs are sufficiently promising) you can grab it safe in the knowledge that it’s worth grabbing, at least on a stylistic level. One such label is the classic (and aptly named) 60’s Detroit imprint Solid Hit. In its short two year history, there were only a dozen releases on Solid Hit, but some of them were absolute classics. Pat Lewis (one of the great singers of the era) recorded four of the twelve 45s on the label, including a great version of the Parliaments ‘Look at What I Almost Missed’ and the ultra-rare (and amazing) ‘No One to Love’. I recently grabbed another Solid Hit disc, by an artist that I had never heard, Johnny Goode. The price was right, and the presence of an instrumental dub on the b-side (always attractive to me) was a plus. When the record dropped through the mail slot, and onto the turntable, I knew that I’d made the right decision. So, as I always do, I start trying to track down info on the artist, and I discover that “Johnny Goode” was in fact the legendary Sidney Barnes. If the name Sidney Barnes isn’t familiar to you, go back and drag out some of your Detroit soul 45s. As part of the Geo-Si-Mik partnership (George Clinton, Sidney Barnes and Mike Terry) Barnes co-wrote and produced some of the finest mid-60’s Detroit soul sides on the Golden World, Ric-Tic and Solid Hit labels. Barnes got his start recording as a member of the Serenaders in the early 60’s, waxing sides for several labels, including Motown/VIP. He went solo in 1964, working as a songwriter/performer for the Red Bird/Blue Cat labels where he recorded under his own name for the first time. It was while working in New York City that he met George Clinton, who was himself working as a songwriter for Jobete publishing. Clinton and Barnes both made the move to Detroit in 1965, where the hooked up with Mike Terry. It was during that period that Barnes would record ‘Payback’. Though I have no definitive information, I can only assume that Barnes was recording under a pseudonym due to contractual obligations. The tune opens with a bright horn line before settling into a groove, with a solid 4/4 beat and a smooth vocal by Barnes. ‘Payback’ has a slightly funky edge to it (the congas are nice) and the chorus –

Payback’s a dog when it comes, ain’t it baby? Payback‘s a mean thing when it comes.... Payback’s a drag when it hits you ain’t it baby? Payback’s a mean son of a gun!

- is a gas. So, after I played the a-side a couple or five times, I decide to flip the disc over, and there, waiting for me on the b-side was a tasty organ-led version of the tune. I can’t say this with 100% certainty, but I’d be awfully (terribly, completely) surprised (pole-axed, stunned and bewildered) if it wasn’t head Funk Brother Earl Van Dyke providing the grooves here. Following his brief stint as “Johnny Goode”, Sidney Barnes would be recruited as one of the vocalists of Cadet Records new psychedelic soul group the Rotary Connection, alongside none other than Minnie Riperton. Barnes would go on to record several LPs with the group. He still records and performs today.

NOTE: A few readers wrote about Monday's mix and asked if it could also be provided as a ZIP file that contained separate tracks. I created/uploaded that file and added the link to Monday's post (below)

Funky16Corners Mix v.1 - Funky Philadelphia

2006-05-08T13:03:00.000-04:00

The Nu Sound Express Ltd.

Track listing The Show Stoppers – Shake Your Mini (Showtime) Interpretations – Blow Your Mind (Jubilee) Panic Buttons – Hitch It To The Mule (Chalom) Alfie & The Explosions – Safire (Phil-L.A. of Soul) Hidden Cost – Bo Did It (Marmaduke) Alliance – Pass The Pipe (Wand) Landslides – We Don’t Need No Music (Huff Puff) United Image – African Bump (Branding Iron) Broad Street Gang – 12th Street Man (Cougar) Big Al T Orchestra – Do The Slide (Virtue) Nu Sound Express – One More Time You All (Silver Dollar) Nat Turner Rebellion – Plastic People (Delvaliant) Fantastic Johnny C – Let’s Do It Together (Kama Sutra) Radars – Finger Licking Chicken (Yew) Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt 1 (Fat Back) Four Larks – Keep Climbing Brother (Uptown) Brothers of Hope – Nickol Nickol (Gamble) Greetings all. The beginning of another week is here, and I’ve decided to do something new here at the ole Funky16Corners blog. For quite a while I’ve been thinking about presenting something a little more substantial than a single (or double) song download, and though what I’m about to do doesn’t technically rise to the level of podcasting (I think...) it is a “cast” of sorts. Starting this week, and repeating periodically (maybe once every few weeks) from now on I’ll be posting themed mixes for download. Keep in mind that these will be comparatively large files and if you’re working with a slow connection they will take a VERY LONG TIME to download. However, if you have a faster connection it won’t be nuthin’ but a thang. I will continue the regular Funky16Corners format, i.e. one record/one story for the vast majority of the posts, so if you’re still on dial-up, you’ll still be able to get your regularly scheduled soulful taste, same Bat time, same Bat channel. Just keep checking back. Now, to the mix.... When I sat down to put this mix together, I decided that along with some personal faves (some of which – 4 of the 17 tunes - have appeared in this space previously), I was going to try to go for some of the more unsung 45s in my Philly crates.

Things start off with ‘Shake Your Mini’ by the Show Stoppers. Featuring a couple of Solomon Burke’s nephews, the Show Stoppers are best known for the classic ‘Ain’t Nothing But a House Party’. ‘Shake Your Mini’ (which includes a Hammond version of the cut by Ronnie Dee on the b-side) is by far their funkiest outing, and was their last US release (they went on to record a few 45s for a UK label).

The Interpretations had an interesting history. There were four 45s released under that name, two (Snap Out b/w Soul Affection and Automatic Soul Pts 1&2) on Bell, and two on Jubilee (Blow Your Mind b/w Trippin’ and Jason Pew Mosso Pts 1&2). Both Bell 45s – one of which which was originally released on the local Haral label – and the ‘Blow Your Mind’ side of the first Jubilee 45 featured the original Interpretations. The ‘Trippin’ side of that 45, and both sides of the ‘Jason Pew Mosso’ 45 are in fact the MFSB rhythm section, i.e. Ronnie Baker, Norman Harris, Bobby Eli and Earl Young et al. That same core group appears on this mix under the pseudonyms The Hidden Cost, Landslides and the Brothers of Hope (and probably play on many of the others as well).

The Panic Buttons were the work of Philly saxophonist Lou Lupo. They recorded 45s for their own Chalom label, some of which were reissued on Gamble. They are all worth checking out.

I know nothing about Alfie & The Explosions, other than they seem to have recorded into the disco era. ‘Safire’ certainly has a touch of that feeling, but stays funky.

The Hidden Cost, as I said before were one of a number names under which the MFSB rhythm recorded. Marmaduke records was owned by Bernie Binnick and Len Barry, and released a number of 45s on that imprint by Norma & The Heartaches, Power Play and Daley’s Diggers, as well as productions by the Electric Indian. The spoken parts on ‘Bo Did It’ are exchanges between Earl Young and Bobby Eli.

The Alliance was another studio group (and another Marmaduke production), this time featuring Daryl Hall (who’s voice is recognizable in the mix) and Bobby Eli (who are credited with the arrangement) among others. The flip side of ‘Pass the Pipe’ is an instrumental mix of the tune entitled ‘Cupid’s Holding’.

The Landslides were another Baker/Harris/Eli/Young alias. The Huff Puff label (with one of the coolest Philly label designs) also released sides by Ruth McFadden and the Producers. The flip of this one is an instrumental version, cleverly titled ‘Music Please Music’.

By the time the United Image recorded ‘African Bump’ for Jesse James’ Branding iron label, they had already recorded a few 45s for Stax. They later recorded as Double Exposure.

I wish I knew more about the Broad Street Gang. I have three 45s by the group, one on Cougar, one on Condor and another on Avco, all excellent. I’ve heard rumors that there was also an LP, but I’ve never seen it.

The ‘Big Al T Orchestra’ cut ‘Do the Slide’ was the flip of their cooking instrumental take on Edwin Starr’s ’25 Miles’. I believe ‘Big Al T’ was the same cat as ‘Al Thomas’, as in the Al Thomas Ork’, also on Virtue. It’s a nice jazzy slice of guitar funk.

The Nu Sound Express recorded two 45s for the local Silver Dollar label. The first, ‘Ain’t It Good Enough’ was sampled on DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist’s Brainfreeze mix. ‘One More Time You All’ was the a-side of their second 45.

The Nat Turner Rebellion is another extremely intriguing Philly group. They released several 45s, on Delvaliant, Philly Soulville and Philly Groove (one as just ‘Nat Turner’), but I have never really been able to track down any info on them. ‘Plastic People’ was the b-side of their Delvaliant 45.

The Fantastic Johnny C is best known for his Phil-L.A. of Soul 45s and LP (especially ‘Boogaloo Down Broadway’), but ‘Let’s Do It Together’ on Kama Sutra is by far his hardest hitting funk side.

‘Finger Licking Chicken’ b/w ‘Soul Serenade’ by that Radars was originally released (as ‘The Radors’) on the Leoso label. The Yew 45 is easier to come by and one of my favorite Philly funk sides.

The late Georgie Woods was one of the great Philly radio personalities in the 60’s and 70’s. ‘Potato Salad Pts 1&2’ borrows the tune from Lionel Hampton’s funky ‘Greasy Greens’, and was arranged by the great Vince Montana.

The Four Larks made some of the greatest Philly soul sides of the 60’s. ‘Keep Climbing Brother’ was an unusual instrumental b-side of one of their last 45s.

Last but certainly not least is ‘Nickol Nickol’ by the Brothers of Hope. This 45 is what is known in the digger community as “slept on”. It’s a dark, thumping piece of instro-funk and still one of the great 45 bargains (cheap and plentiful, that’s the way to go). Once again the MFSB guys, this also features Vince Montana on vibes (check out that ‘Eleanor Rigby’ coda).

Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson - Soulshake

2006-05-05T14:38:00.000-04:00

Peggy & Jo Jo, about to get their Soulshake on.

Greetings one and all. Friday is here, the weekend is upon us, and it’s 80 freakin’ degrees in New Jersey. The antibiotics that the doctor prescribed for me have gone to war with, and subdued the dreaded strep germs, and I’m actually feeling pretty good for the first time in three days. In honor of the firm encroachment of NJ’s famous, almost-Spring/almost-Summer quasi-season (you really have to live here to know what I’m talking about), I’ve reserved space in today’s entry for a rump-shaker of the first magnitude. I first encountered today’s selection back in the 80’s when I was first started buying CDs in earnest, and unfortunately sold a bunch of vinyl at bargain basement prices to finance the project. I’m ashamed to admit how many choice LPs I let go at the time. I’ll only take time to say (with a whimper), “Larry Williams and Johnny Guitar Watson, come home to Papa…” So, as I was spending a lot of dough on digital biscuits, and there wasn’t a tremendous amount of variety available at the time, when I saw a soul collection (on K-Tel no less) that featured some old faves and a couple of things that were new to me, I had to grab it. I don’t remember the exact title (and I’m not about to start digging for it right now, but it was something like ‘Sixties Soul Party’. When I first put it on (marveling like some kind of rube at the “crystal clear sound”), the track that hit me the hardest was one of the unfamiliar ones, ‘Soulshake’ by Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson, and it’s been a favorite ever since then. At the time, Scott and Benson were completely unknown to me. If I knew then how many copies of ‘Lovers Holiday’ I’d flip past in the ensuing years I could have saved myself a lot of time. ‘Soulshake’* grabbed me from the opening bars with a thumping bass entwined with a buzzing electric sitar. Things really got dangerous when Peggy and Jo Jo dropped in and the drummer started bashing away. It’s one of those records, were you to spin it in a morgue, the stiffs would start tapping their feet. Things get even cooler when the pedal steel guitar (that’s right, I said pedal steel guitar…) comes in, giving the whole affair a really interesting flavor. Jo Jo Benson (born Joseph Ewell) was a 27 year old veteran performer in 1968 when he first paired up with 17 year old Peggy Scott. They were discovered by Shelby Singleton (he, the SSS in the SSS Intl. Label), and first recorded by legendary/notorious producer Huey P. Meaux (aka the Crazy Cajun). Meaux produced their first few singles – including the aforementioned ‘Lover’s Holiday’ – but it as Singleton himself that took the duo to Nashville and recorded ‘Soulshake’. Singleton employed local session players, including steel guitar legend Pete Drake on ‘Soulshake’ and the combination of rocking soul and down-home twang made for pure dynamite. I wouldn’t go as far as to suggest that it sounds exactly like Marvin and Tammi’s bus broke down outside of Music City and they did a gig with the Good Ole Blues Brothers Boys Band, but to deny that there’s just a touch of that flavor there would be foolish. As I said before, ‘Soulshake’ is a certified, deep-fried, butt-wiggling, other-stuff-jiggling party starter, and in the spirit of an earlier rant, quite affordable, so that even the greenest turntable manipulator out there can secure their own copy and spring it on a somnolent and unsuspecting audience, rousing them from their stupor and whipping them into a sweaty soul frenzy, and when you think of it, isn’t that why we do what we do (it’s why I do what I do)**. Peggy & Jo Jo recorded a number of 45s and two LPs for SSS Intl. And then moved on briefly to ATCO before breaking up in 1971. The pair reunited briefly in the early 80’s, and both have recorded as solo acts since then.

UPDATE

I just got this correction from Brian Poust from the great Georgia Soul Recordings website:

"Shelby Singleton, while an astute businessman to be sure, does not get credit for discovering Peggy Scott & Jo Jo. Rather, it was Columbus GA radio DJ/promotor/record store owner Ed "Dr. Jive" Mendel who first released Jo Jo Benson's "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" single and was managing Benson. The duo with Peggy Scott who had been performing at the C'estbon night club, and the "Mr. Starlight" single on Mendel's Peggy Sue label had just been picked up for national distribution by SSS. Mendel told Singleton about Peggy Scott and Jo Jo (he was managing them) and Singleton picked them up and recorded the hit "Lover's Holiday" shortly therafter.More info. here. Scroll to the bottom for a picture of Mendel, Peggy Scott, Jo Jo and other local DJs with their "Lover's Holiday" gold record!"

Thanks Brian! *The tune was written by Myra Smith and Margaret Lewis. By the late 60’s Smith, who previously owned the Shreveport label Ram Records (for which Lewis recorded rockabilly and swamp pop sides) and Lewis had relocated to Nashville to work as songwriters. Aside from ‘Soulshake’, Smith and Lewis also wrote ‘Reconsider Me’ which was recorded by a number of soul and country singers, but saw it’s biggest hit with Johnny Adams on SSS Intl., and the underrated ballad ‘I Almost Call Your Name’ by Johnny Soul. **Plaese to excuse the run on sentence, but I felt to break the feeling up with periods would wreck the vibe.

Eldridge Holmes - An Open Letter (To My Love)

2006-05-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

The Mighty Eldridge Holmes

Howdy, doodies. I’m going to try to keep this short today, as I have come down with a wicked case of strep throat, and feel like deep-fried (but lightly salted) crap. Today’s selection is by one of my all time fave NOLA artists, and was for a long time a personal holy grail. I finally tracked it down a few years ago, and just dug it out for blog-I-fication this past week. The record I speak of is ‘An Open Letter To My Love’ by the mighty Eldridge Holmes. I decided to run it today for two reasons. Numero One-O: I already laid down the long form story on the late great Mr. Holmes over at the Funky16Corners web zine a while back. The skinny – as the kids say – can be gotten over there. Number Dos: It’s as solid a slice of deep soul balladry as I’ve ever heard, and wanting to get a few ballads up in the blog, I decided (being “the decider”) that now would be a good time. You need only read my piece on Holmes (and a previous blog entry) to see that I hold his work in the highest possible esteem. He was an amazing singer, who laid down R&B, soul, and funk equally well, as well as being another one of the names, close to the top of the ‘New Orleans Singers That Should have Been Huge” list. ‘An Open Letter To My Love’ was the A-side of what I believe to be Holmes very last 45, recorded in 1972. Unfortunately, when I found my copy, it was a promo with the same song on both sides, so I still can’t tell you what the B-side, ‘Let’s Go Steady’ sounds like. It’s also notable as the only record in the Holmes discography that is not Allen Toussaint-associated. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have an impeccable Crescent City pedigree, having been composed (both sides) by Charles Brimmer and produced by the great Senator Jones (‘Miniskirt Dance’ et al) on Earl King’s Kansu imprint. I used to think - because both sides of the 45 were Brimmer compositions - that maybe Jones brought Holmes in and record over existing Brimmer tracks, yet I haven’t been able to find any trace of Brimmer having recorded these tunes. The arrangement is taken at a slow pace, allowing Holmes to get in some old-school, down home pleading. The bluesy horns and tremelo guitar provide perfect backing for Holmes monumental performance. Listening to this track (or any Eldridge Holmes record for that matter) leaves you feeling cheated that he spent the last 26 years of his life out of the recording studio. He only managed to record 33 sides in a little over a decade. While he was certainly not the only great New Orleans singer to meet such an unjust fate, his great talent makes his situation seem all the crueler.As far as I know this song has never been comped, and although I’ve said this many times before (I’ll say it again here), the time is long since past for a label like Sundazed to issue a comprehensive collection of Eldridge Holmes recordings.