Funky16Corners

We've Moved! AGAIN!!! Funky16Corners v3.0

2006-06-30T11:52:00.002-04:00

Funky16Corners Has moved yet AGAIN!!! Go to.... http://funky16corners.lunarpages.net 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.

The Mighty Marvelows - I'm So Confused (Plus Bonus Track)

2006-05-01T11:44:00.000-04:00

The Mighty Marvelows

Greetings one and all. Here’s hoping everyone had a decent weekend, at least decent enough to make returning to work today worthwhile. Also, I’m glad so many of you dug the King Coleman cut from Friday. I’ll make sure to get his Fairmount side recorded and posted sometime in the next month. Today’s selection is yet another gem, pulled from a stack of otherwise ignored records. Well, I guess “ignored” is too strong a word, and maybe overlooked might be a better choice. As I’ve said before – and I’ll try to keep it brief for those of you that were paying attention – sometimes I get bunches of records that a lack of time (or attention span) prevent me from perusing thoroughly. Generally I’ll give them a quick spin on the portable, mark the sleeve to indicate the interesting side(s) and then move on. Sometimes it’ll be months before I get a chance to go back and really check things out. Today’s selection was the victim of my inattention, and let me take this opportunity to offer an apology, both to the readers of the blog, who have been deprived of such a fine record, and to the Mighty Marvelows who took the time to lay it down. First and foremost, The Mighty Marvelows are the same group as the Marvelows (who recorded the mighty ‘I Do’ which I will be posting in the future), but not the same group as the West Coast group the Marvellos who recorded for Loma (who apparently threatened legal action, forcing the addition of the “Mighty” to the group’s name). They got together in Chicago in the early 60’s and were discovered by arranger/producer Johnny Pate, who brought them to the attention of the ABC/Paramount label. The Marvelows hit the Top 40 only once, with ‘I Do’ in 1965, but continued to record for ABC until they broke up in 1969. Today’s selection ‘I’m So Confused’ was released in 1968, and is as solid a slice of danceable soul as you’re likely to hear. Co-written by bass singer Frank Paden (and an ‘H. Turner’ who I have yet to identify), the tune opens with a snappy snare roll, some ringing cymbals and a bright horn line. The lead vocal by Johnny Paden has a nice, raspy edge to it, and the backing vocals illustrate that the group (Mighty indeed) still hadn’t lost any of their ability to craft tight harmonies. After ‘I’m So Confused’, the Mighty Marvelows had at least one other 45, and ABC managed to release an LP by the group before they dissolved. If you dig the sound, and don’t feel like coughing up in excess of $30 for a copy (which seems to be the going rate these days), the folks over at Collectables (home of some of the best “budget” reissues) have a Marvelows collection that includes both ‘I’m So Confused’ and ‘I Do’ (see below) .

Bonus Track

"Listen - (Play Me) A Cornbread Song - MP3"

Back in October of last year I posted a gritty track (‘Sadie Mae’) by Joe Haywood. Though the track was on the New Orleans label Deesu, information provided by Dan Phillips of the mighty ‘Home of the Groove’ blog (THE source for NOLA info and always a good read) indicated that it was recorded elsewhere, and probably only leased by Deesu. Today’s bonus track was also released on Deesu (in 1966) and then picked up and issued two years later (with a slightly different title) by the Kent label. ‘(Play Me) A Cornbread Song’ takes things to a whole new funky level, with some crazy lyrics. Recently, Red Kelly, chief cook and bottle-washer over at the excellent ‘B-Side’ blog had a fantastic idea, i.e. set up a blog to gather information on obscure soul artists from as many sources as possible to create as clear a picture as possible. The result was the new blog ‘Soul Detective’, which so far has done posts on Haywood and Lee Bates which have gotten great results. Do yourselves a favor and check it out.

King Coleman - The Boo Boo Song Pt1

2006-04-28T10:41:00.000-04:00

Hey, kids! It's King Coleman!

So it’s the middle of 1967, and you just rolled into your job at the local six million watt AM radio powerhouse. You pour yourself a disgusting cup of lukewarm coffee and grab a box of new 45s, to see what might make it onto the air. You work your way through all manner of budding psychedelia, sunshine pop and middle-of-the-road instrumentals, when you reach into the box and pull out something called ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ by a cat calling himself King Coleman. Though you are unfamiliar with the artist, you decide to give it a spin anyway, knowing that despite the suspect title, anything is possible. You unsleeve the record, place it on the turntable and absentmindedly apply needle to wax. The next few second are a blur. All you can remember is that following seemingly innocent opening, female singers chanting;

A hunting we will go A hunting we will go We will catch that fox and put him in a box And will not let him go! You momentarily figure you have a childrens record on your hands. And then, something happens that causes you to spit out your coffee and jump from your chair like your pants were on fire. There, booming out of the speakers is something that sounds like a bug-eyed madman on a caffeine bender.

Boo bo boo bo boo boo boo bo bo bo bo Bay bay buh baybay bay buh buh bay bay Bo bo bo bo bo bo bo (etc etc...)*

It sounds like the kind of guy, that if a certified lunatic like Screaming Jay Hawkins saw King Coleman coming up the sidewalk, he’d pull the bone from his nose, avert his eyes and cross to the other side of the street, murmuring to himself, “Omigod, omigod, omigod. It’s that King Coleman...PUH-leeze don’t let him see me....” Suffice to say, that as far as you were concerned, things only got worse. The wild babbling emanating from the grooves builds to a crescendo, a mess of corrupted nursery rhymes, nonsense syllables and wild wailing. You rake the needle across the record, pull it off the turntable and break it into little pieces, run into the next room and tell your secretary that if she ever lets ANYTHING like that through again she’s going to be looking for work. You of course are a tasteless bastard, and this little memory goes a long way toward explaining why you currently live under a highway overpass, grilling pigeons over a campfire. Now if it were me back then (I’d be 5 years old), I’d have immediately requested several extra copies of ‘The Boo Boo Song’ so I’d have some spares ready as I wore them out. That’s just the kind of kid I was (and am). You see, I think King Coleman was one of the great geniuses of his day, erupting like a rhythm and blues volcano, wrecking the joint with all manner of Mashed Potatoes, Hully Gullys, Loo-key Doo-keys, Alley Rats (and Soulful Mice) and Booga-Lous. Between 1959, when he moved from his work as an emcee and disk jockey into the world of R&B as the voice on Nat Kendrick & The Swans ‘(Do The) Mashed Potatoes Pts 1&2’ – and the late 60’s, Carlton ‘King’ Coleman laid down some of the butt-shakingest, eye-rollingest, high-stepping soul and funk 45s to ever roll down the pike. Every last one of them** is a guaranteed party starter. ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ is possibly the finest of them all, because it manages to rope in (barely) his explosive vocalizing, pairing it with some booming drums, blaring horns and organ, all of which make it a storming slice of soul evangelism – guaran-freaking-teed to peel off the wallflowers and send those already dancing into a sweaty trance. If you haven’t done so already, I would suggest most vociferously that when you play this track, you loosen your tie, turn the volume way up and let it wail. I would also recommend that if you have any small kids around, you play it for them too. I played it for my two-year old son, and he thought it was a hoot. Thankfully, of you’re not the type to go digging for 45s, the always brilliant folks at Norton Records have assemble the King’s best into a single compilation (see link below).

* Yeah, I know that isn't an exact transcription, but if you think I'm going to spend a half an hour, restarting the song 50 times so I can accurately count all the BOBO's and BAYBAY's, you my friend have another think coming...

** The only exception - and a track that was omitted (for obvious reasons) from the Norton comp is the fascinating 'Freedom', which came out on Fairmount in 1965 or 66. It's a mostly spoken word, civil rights anthem that is an extreme departure from the rest of his oeuvre. I'll post it here sometime in the future

Stevie Wonder - Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)

2006-04-26T11:03:00.000-04:00

Mr. Stevie Wonder!

The middle of the week is upon us. Despite the fact that I have a couple of burners in the on deck circle (and I’m chomping at the bit to get them posted) I’ve decided to change things up and work in a ballad*. Back in 1973 (when I was but a sprout of 11), Aretha Frankin had a big (#1 R&B/#3 Pop) hit with the tune ‘Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)’. I loved the song then (unusual, I know but the melody really grabbed me), and I always turn up the radio when it comes on. It was years before I found out that the tune was actually written by the one and only Stevie Wonder. Of course I started tracking down the original version, but in the pre-internet days I was - how do they say - stymied. As time went on I figured that Wonder had written but never actually recorded the song himself. A few years ago, when it was included on a CD compilation, I realized that Wonder had indeed recorded, but never released his own version of the song (I had yet to hear it). I decided in the last year or so that I was going to try to track down the recording... About a month ago I had some spare time on my hands and started to pull out some records to make a funk/soul mix. One of the LPs I removed from the old Expedit was a 3-LP Stevie Wonder collection from 1977 called ‘Looking Back’, one of several similar Motown reissues from the 70's. I had grabbed it at a garage sale in the neighborhood a few years ago, and it had basically been gathering dust on the shelf since then. I had taken it out to see if it included the funky 1968 number ‘You Met Your Match’ (another fave) which I didn’t happen to have on 45. So, I’m scanning the track listings in the awkward tri-fold LP jacket, when, much to my surprise there on the second disc was ‘Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)’. My initial shock was soon exceeded by a feeling of “Boy, am I ever a rube” (this of course goes back to the “too many records to keep track of problem”). I started doing some research and discovered that this was the only time the recording had ever been issued on vinyl. Wonder co-wrote the tune with Clarence Paul and Morris Broadnax**. Paul was the man that initially brought Wonder to Motown, and served as his mentor/father figure for many years.

Wonder recorded the song in 1967, and the full arrangement suggests that it almost certainly was intended for release at one time (as opposed to being solely a “publisher’s demo”). Apparently there was also another 60’s recording of the tune – also unreleased at the time – by Junior Walker & the All Stars (it was eventually issued on a Best Of CD in 1993). Wonder’s recording opens with lush strings and a subdued rhythm section. His vocal is of course wonderful, and the arrangement a little slower and more romantic than the hit version by Franklin. Her recording has a soulful kick to it, especially with the taut call and response exchanges between Aretha and her backup singers. I still haven’t decided which version I prefer, but I suppose since they’re both excellent, it doesn’t really matter. The tune was later covered by Johnny Mathis, Paul Young, Basia and – believe it or not – the Captain & Tennille. If your not the type to haunt garage sales, flea markets or dusty used record stores (where you could probably find a copy of ‘Looking Back’ for a few dollars), ‘Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)’ is included on the Stevie Wonder boxed set ‘At the Close of a Century’. Considering the greatness of Mr. Wonder, you’d definitely be getting your money’s worth.

* There'll be some nice, upbeat soul on Friday, but I will be returning with another ballad next week.

**The trio also wrote ‘Just A Little Misunderstanding’ for the Contours NOTE: I’d like to extend a special note of thanks to reader Matt M., who found a copy of the Four Larks ‘Groovin’ At The Go Go’ (long an unrequited highlight of my want list), and sent it to me, gratis. For this extremely cool move, I will be forever in his debt.

One Good Neville Deserves Another

2006-04-24T14:36:00.000-04:00

One from Art...

And one from Cyril!

Greetings all. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be able to meet my Monday payroll (as it were), since Blogger had been offline for most of the last 24 hours (if not longer). Fortunately it appears to have been restored (at least momentarily) so I’m going to try to get today’s selection posted up before the whole house of cards comes tumbling down again. I spent some quality time yesterday sifting through old stuff, new arrivals and a couple of gems I had put aside for just such an occasion, got it all recorded and scanned, and then remembered I had a few things already waiting in the wings. These records were so delicious, that I just had to get them posted before I moved on to bigger, better (read: newer) things. In the spirit of brevity (hand in hand with the spirit of coincidence) I figured that I could post them both at the same time, since, as they say in New Orleans: “one good Neville deserves another”. Those that stop by this space regularly know that the sounds of New Orleans have a large, warm and welcoming space reserved in my heart – causing me to wax poetic about them on a semi-regular basis. The two records I’m posting today are – as I hinted above – both Neville-related, one having the extra-special bonus of being an Eddie Bo composition/production. That record, Art Neville’s ‘Hook Line and Sinker’ is a lively mid-60’s soul banger , with an outstanding horn chart and a great four-on-the-floor beat. As far as I know the recording of this record pre-dates the formation of the Neville Sounds (the band that would become the Meters), so I’m guessing that the backing band is likely a studio aggregation. ‘Hook Like and Sinker’ (not the same tune recorded by Betty Harris a few years later) is a great slice of pop soul, and typical of the kind of quality record that was coming out in the Instant label’s post-R&B soul and funk era, especially in the fact that outside of New Orleans it was all but ignored (a fate that befell lots and lots of quality Crescent City records of that era). While Art’s vocals may not have been as distinctive as his brother Aaron’s (though there are similarities), he was abetter than average singer (having waxed sides for Specialty and Cinderella). The second 45 we have for you today hails from about five years further down the pike, well inside the city limits of Funk-ville. Cyril Neville, the youngest of the famous brothers, had been a member of the pre-Meters Neville Sounds. When Art Neville, Zigaboo Modeliste, George Porter and Leo Nocentelli broke off and formed the Meters, Cyril and Aaron Neville went on to for the Soul Machine (a band that sadly never recorded). By the time Cyril finally had the chance to record under his own name, it was 1970 and he found himself in a Georgia studio with Allen Toussaint and the Meters*. The resulting sides, ‘Gossip’ and ‘Tell Me What’s On Your Mind’ were both heaters. Prior to a few years ago, ‘Gossip’ was unkown to me. I had ‘Tell me What’s On Your Mind’ on a comp – and dug it – but that tune, a smooth, soulful number didn’t prepare me for the power of ‘Gossip’. I started to see the tune mentioned on several sale-lists (and Ebay listings...ugh) and finally grabbed my own copy a while later. The tune opens with a throbbing rhythm section, and then, when you least expect it, Mr. Nocentelli (who also penned the tune) drops by with and electric sitar, starting off the whole affair with a touch of funky psych-out. When the full band (and horns) drop in, the sound of the Meters in unmistakable. Cyril’s vocal is right on the money, sounding like a slightly tougher version of Art, dropping the ‘FONKY’s right and left like they were going out of style (which thankfully they were not). The record is super-tight, red hot and worthy of the elevated prices it was (and is) fetching. The fact that it has such an excellent b-side should only serve as extra incentive to score your own copy. Cyril went on to join the Meters a few years later, as well as spearhead the formation of the Wild Tchoupitoulas. Since the 70’s he has been a fixture of the Neville Brothers, as well as recording his own bands, and as a solo artist. ‘Gossip’ has appeared on reissues (currently a Jazzman 45 reissue flipped with brother Aaron’s sought after ‘Hercules’). I can’t say for sure if ‘Hook Line and Sinker’ is currently available. I know there’s a UK 3CD compilation of Minit/Instant material, but I have not been able to find a track listing.

*I believe that this is a different session than the one that produced Eldridge Holmes mighty 'Pop Popcorn Children'.

The JBs - The Grunt Pt1

2006-04-21T12:26:00.000-04:00

These are the J.B.s!

Hey, look! It’s Friday. Wheeeee! As a special treat (and under advisement from my wife) I’ll dispense with any existential grousing and get right to the music. I’ve wanted to post today’s selection for a long time, and I don’t know why I never got around to it. The likely explanation is that I was distracted while flipping through records by more obscure artists, or something shiny flew past my window...I don’t know. I’m easily distracted these days (addled, fried...whatever). Anyway...I decided that I was going to get it posted this week, no matter what. The only problem is, I’ve been trying to figure out how to approach this record (which is The J.B.s ‘The Grunt’ by the way), and not having a lot of success. It should be simple enough. It is – of course – a great funk record, by one of the great funk bands of all time. That sounds easy, n’est ce pas???? Unfortunately, nothing is ever that simple hereabouts, a problem that I attribute entirely to myself. My initial take on the record has always been this: ‘The Grunt’ sounds to me like the band director from ‘Drum Line’ directing the orchestra from the prison for the criminally insane. The opening sax-o-ma-phone squeal is about as crazy as anything committed to wax since Edison was reciting ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’, and it’s placement at the very beginning of the tune is to say the least disconcerting. The juxtaposition of this single, strange element against the powerful beat is tempered almost immediately by the sound of the J.B. horns blaring away as if their lives depended on it. The march-like aspects of the tempo only serve to enhance the wild abandon of the rest of the record. It’s not hard to imagine the JB’s, in uniform, high stepping around the studio led by some kind of other-worldly drum major in orange sequined hot pants (or some such). Though it may seem that I am portraying the record as somehow chaotic (which in a way it is) the chaos exists within the constraint of the patented James Brown Rhythmic Method. While the band may be going nuts, the whole affair is bolted into an iron box. It may lack the subtlety and grace (or as some might say, smooth mechanical precision) of a record like ‘Sex Machine’, but ‘The Grunt’ is in many ways a more powerful statement. The very first record released under the J.B.s name, it was also one of a handful of singles recorded with the line-up that included former members of the Ohio band the Pacesetters, i.e. Bootsy (William) and Catfish (Phelps) Collins, Frank ‘Kash’ Waddy and Philippe Wynne. James Brown had hired the Pacesetters when the majority of his existing band walked out on him. The Collins brothers would leave the fold soon after, for many of the same reasons, mainly Brown’s tyrannical attitude toward his band. The wild sound of ‘The Grunt’ is especially interesting when you realize that the very next record in their discography is the comparatively subtle and jazzy ‘These Are the J.B.s Pts 1&2’. It’s almost as if the acid had worn off, and James had forced Bootsy to get a haircut. I’d go as far as to say that while the J.B.s were one of the hottest bands in the land, they never made a record (under that name) as hot as ‘The Grunt’.

Part 2: Cheapies vs. Expensive-ies....

One of the regular readers left a comment on this Wednesday’s post, saying that he hoped I hadn’t paid a lot for the record (King Ernest Baker’s ‘Somebody Somewhere (Is Playing With Yours)’) because it was a “cheapie”. Normally I’d let something like that go without comment, but this time it irked me a little. I’m positive, that if you were to make a survey of my collection, you would find a wide variety of records for which I had alternately underpaid, or overpaid for as the case may be*. That’s the way these things go. Sometimes you get lucky, and find normally costly records for pennies, and other times you pay more than the going rate for a record because you really, really, REALLY want it and don’t feel like waiting for a cheap copy to present itself. I find the collector preoccupation with the financial “value” of records to be unsettling. It brings along with it a lot of baggage, especially when you start to balance the cash value against the musical value. I’ve heard plenty of expensive records that pale in comparison to 45s that I got for a dollar. The collector mentality (something I’ve recognized in myself from time to time) places an inordinate value on rarity of the physical item (i.e. the 45 itself) that often ignores the quality of the music in the grooves. I’ve featured a number of exceptional 45s in this space that are readily available for $20 and under, as well as scarce items that the average Joe might only be able to grab on a CD reissue. Not to mention that for those that are willing to dig (and experiment) there are tons of amazing, little known (or appreciated) records out there to be had – if you’ll forgive the pun – for a song. I think sometime soon I may have to do a week or two devoted exclusively to “cheap” records. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

King Ernest Baker - Somebody Somewhere (Is Playing With Yours)

2006-04-19T12:21:00.000-04:00

Wednesday....aaarrrgh. While the glass-half-fullers of the world see it as ‘Hump Day’ (a name which should have been reserved for a much more interesting – yet to be established – national holiday), the “beginning of the end” of the week, I can’t help but feel that such a sentiment is indicative of the kind of wet-brained “optimism” currently infecting the White House. What some see as the gateway to fun and games, I see as a barren shoal in the middle of a still sea, with no land in sight. I hate to burden you with what has become a repeated litany (I should distill it to its essence and enshrine it in some kind of FAQ), but it all goes to explaining a general “philosophy”of sorts (maybe too classy a description) behind the Funky16Corners blog. As I attempt to get new tunes and words posted up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I like to think of the chain of posts as a kind of rickety bridge from one weekend to the next, in which we (the readers and myself) traverse the work week making every effort to maintain equilibrium, aided by the natural power of funk and soul music. I’m willing to admit that it’s possible that no one but myself sees it that way, but one can hope against hope (can’t one?). The strange thing is, that despite my repeated griping, I like my job (as much as its possible to like a “job”). The problem is, that sometime early in my life (probably the period after high school where I had convinced myself that I was going to “work” as a rock musician, a notion from which I was soon – rightly - disabused) I decided that working for a living was “for the squares”, and as a result have resented having to do so for the rest of my life, right up to the present day. That resentment, chiseled into my brain, and always hovering in the background when and wherever responsible action is required, almost always loses out, but it’s always there, lobbing psychological Bronx cheers at me as a reminder of the slacker philosophe I once fancied myself. I can’t help but be embarrassed about it all, but it’s become ingrained in my basic nature. Fish gotta swim. Monkeys have to throw their own poop. I have to gripe about working for a living. Good thing for me that I have a lovely wife, wonderful son, great family and a pastime/avocation that keeps me occupied. Now that that’s out of the way... How about the music? Some time back a year or two ago, someone (and I forget who, so If you’re reading this, I apologi-eeeze) sent me a mix CD with a bunch of cool – and unfamiliar – cuts on it). One of these was a funky organ jam that I hadn’t heard before, and because such records are like mothers milk to me, I set out to track it down. It took me a few months to track down a copy of the record at a reasonable price (please note that the price of a record that I find “reasonable” may in no way conform to generally accepted levels of reasonable-ness). When it finally dropped through the mail slot, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that said organ jam was merely an instrumental dub of the vocal on the a-side, King Ernest Baker’s ‘Somebody Somewhere (Is Playing With Yours)’ on the appropriately named Funk Records. I hadn’t heard of Baker before, and it took a while to find any info on him and his career. It turns out that King Ernest was part of along tradition of R&B singers that passed through a number of genres in his career, recording as a soul, funk, and eventually blues singer. Born and raised in Mississippi, he moved to Chicago in the late 50’s and worked there for a number of years before moving to New York City. He recorded his first record for the Old Town label. The singer, now known as King Ernest, moved back to Chicago in the late 60’s and over the next ten years recorded 45s for Sonic, Barry , Mercury and Funk. I’m not sure, but I’d place ‘Somebody Somewhere (Is Playing With Yours)’ around 1969 or 1970. The backing band on the session was the Pieces of Peace, who had a history as a backing band on a number of Twinight Recrods sessions, for artists like Syl Johnson, Annette Poindexter, and the Dynamic Tints. They recorded one 45 under their own name, “Pass It On Pts 1&2” for Twinight. Opening with powerful horn bursts, ‘Somebody Somewhere (Is Playing With Yours)’ features a strong vocal by King Ernest, hard drums and wailing organ (which would take the lead on the b-side). The arrangement is tight, and the lyrics, an admonition to pay attention to your woman, equally so. King Ernest lays it down... “I know it’s hard to resist temptation With all the miniskirts and hot pants around You’re sneaking here, and sneaking there With every girl you can around town WAKE UP!

Boy you better shape up! Before you find yourself out cold.” Words to live by. King Ernest went on to a career with the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department, and returned to recording in the 90’s for the Evidence and Fat Possum labels (see below). Sadly, he died in a car wreck in 2000, just after completing his last LP.

Lou Courtney - Rubber Neckin' (Chick Check'n)

2006-04-17T12:34:00.000-04:00

Lou Courtney Strikes Again!

Happy Monday. I mean it this time. Mark your calendars, because today marks the day (at least for this year) where I stop griping about how crummy the weather is and how I can’t wait any longer for spring to arrive. I spent part of Saturday sitting on the front stoop watching my 2-year-old son blow bubbles, collect rocks, and watch ants parade around the front walk. There’s something singularly amazing about watching a little kid get excited about ants. I can only imagine what it would be like if we had any real wildlife wander into the front yard. Anyway, it was sunny, almost 80 degrees and positively therapeutic, following a damp, grey winter. Feeling the sunlight and seeing flowers bloom everywhere is good for the soul (at least mine). Speaking of things that are good for the soul, may I add Soul (the musical kind) to the list? Certainly, my feelings on the matter are no secret, but I guess restating that fact over and over again – in as many different ways as possible – is sort of the modus operandi around here, so I shall continue. One significant aspect of the joy I derive from soul 45s, is the discovery thereof, and that (taking into account the enormous amount of records in the genre that I have yet to get hip to) is unlikely to end anytime soon. I particularly dig finding “new” records by artists that I already love, and today’s entry is just such a discovery. I first encountered the music of Lou Courtney many years ago, on one of my first big soul 45 digging expeditions. I had never heard of Courtney before, and when I encountered multiple, minty copies of a few of his Riverside 45s, and spun them on the in-house turntable at the record store, a new fan was born. Courtney was not only a great singer, but his records were overflowing with wild, energetic soul. Before long I was digging not only for Lou Courtney records, but also for facts on his life and career, and they have not been easy to come by. Sure, certain discographical info is always floating around, in no small part due to the popularity of two of his 45s with the funk45 crowd, i.e. ‘Hey Joyce’ on Popside, and ‘Hot Butter’n’All’ on Hurdy Gurdy, both absolute, stone killers engineered to knock you on your ass, mess your hair up and steal your lunch money (well, maybe not the last part...follow the links for earlier write ups of those 45s on the Funky16Corners blog). But, aside from following the trail of his records (noting his co-writers, producers etc.) I haven’t been able to get much solid biographical info. I suppose that’s OK too, because in a way, with many obscure artists, the trail of their 45s - as they jump from label to label - becomes their biography. The problem inherent in using discographies to track artists is often that they (the discographies that is) are incomplete, and the prevalence of “conventional wisdom”, i.e. what records are known and considered important by collectors, causes some truly amazing records to languish in obscurity. Part of the reason for this (at least in the case of Lou Courtney) is that the different segments of his career are followed by at least three different groups of collectors. The early part of his career, when he recorded for Imperial, Philips and Riverside is known to soul, and Northern Soul fans; the funk period – Popside, Verve, Hurdy Gurdy, Buddha – by funk 45 collectors; and the later years – Rags & Epic – by fans of deep soul. It’s rare to find anyone that digs all three periods. As I mentioned before, “conventional wisdom” is also a problem. I’ve been digging for funk 45s for years, and the records that have always been in demand have been ‘Hey Joyce’ (which exploded due to it’s inclusion in DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist’s ‘Brainfreeze’ mix) and ‘Hot Butter’n’All’. Both of those 45s are in demand and rightly so since they are funk burners of the first order. But nobody told me about ‘Rubber Neckin’ (Chick Check’n)’. Oh my. I suppose you could wait until the song downloads and see for yourselves, but I have to say, you’re going to want a copy of this one for your crates, performing the record collecting equivalent of putting a “tiger in your tank”. In the period between ‘Hey Joyce’ and ‘Hot Butter’n’All’, Lou Courtney laid down a couple of 45s for the Verve label, the first of which was ‘Rubber Neckin’ (Chick Check’n)’ b/w ‘Do The Horse’. ‘Do the Horse’ (which I believe was the a-side), while soulful and energetic, is a standard dance craze/bandwagon jump, and in the end nothing to get excited about. ‘Rubber Neckin’ (Chick Check’n)’ on the other hand, is every bit as shit hot as ‘Hey Joyce’ (aside from the lack of “open” drum breaks) and probably available at a fraction of the price. The main reason for the similarity between those two records is that they were both collaborations between Courtney and Robert Bateman (and they were recorded less than a year apart). Both records have – aside from a stellar vocal by Courtney – bright, reverbed horns and powerful drums. An ode to summertime girl-watching, the tune opens with deceptively slow bass and congas, joined immediately by horn blasts just before the whole thing takes off into a funky gallop. The opening wail from Courtney sounds like Smokey Robinson dropping in for a guest shot, but as soon as the verse starts it’s clearly Mr. Courtney at the wheel. He namechecks NYC hot spots like the Cheetah and the Trip, and dances like the Four Corners and the Horse. When Lou says that he’ll be “Pickin’ all the choosers Overlookin all the losers” You know he ain’t lyin’. As far as I can tell this gem has yet to be comped. Someone out in record company land needs to get their shit together and do a compilation of Courtney’s best stuff. There’s certainly enough great material out there. NOTE: This is Lou Courtney’s third appearance on the Funky16Corners blog. I may have to create some kind of Hall of Fame and place him in it...

Bill Doggett & his Orchestra - Funky Feet (plus bonus...)

2006-04-14T12:27:00.000-04:00

Mr. Bill Doggett

In the words of my dear departed soul brother Fat Albert (no last name given), Hey hey Hey It’s Fri-DAY! That’s always a good thing, but especially this week, for a number of reasons (not including the fact that it is, coincidentally Good Friday, always a solemn occasion and rarely cause for celebration unless you’re some kind of Easter-freak and you view it as a preamble to the diabetic coma you plan on self-inducing this Sunday). First, the wife and son are returning this afternoon, after a week away visiting her folks. Second, I’m so f-ing tired (in both mind and body), I can only view the end of the work week as sweet relief. In the macro, the world carries on much as it has for the last few years. More soldiers were killed in Iraq this week, and despite multiple calls for the ouster of Secretary Rumsfeld (by several generals who clearly know what they’re talking about), the Bush administration, pathologically unable to admit any mistakes, refuses to discuss the matter. Of course they (at least publicly) think that everything’s hunky dory over there, so they’re either lying or deluded (or, as I tend to believe, both). In the micro, things are well. The family is healthy, the flow of good music continues unabated and this whole blogging thing continues to be satisfying. The Funky16Corners blog has been getting between 750 and 900 hits a day (fairly consistently), so at the very least, a few hundred people are stopping by to check things out on a regular basis. I hope they enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy laying it down. I had kind of a hard time picking a 45 to post today. Not that I was lacking in raw material (as my wife rolls her eyes and chuckles warmly in the background) - as I had several nice tunes picked out and ready to go – but I was having trouble deciding what to go with. You know, like choosing the right flavor of Kool-Aid to accompany a particularly piquant sack of potato chips. Making the wrong selection could render one a social outcast.... That said, I decided to make a couple of selections, one major, one minor. My proclivity for collecting and spinning Hammond grooves is well known (at least to those that know me), but knowing that my enthusiasm is not shared by all, I try to limit the amount of groove grease that I spread on the ole blogspot so as not to antagonize the anti-Hammond-ites among you. However.... I recently grabbed a copy of a record that I had been trying to track down for a while, and since it’s funky, and in the words of world-reknowned funk-meister Neil Sedaka “Ear Delicious”, I felt I had to share it.. The record in question is Bill Doggett’s ‘Funky Feet’. Now, Bill Doggett is one of those guys who despite being known to funk 45 heads the world over as the cat who laid down the mighty ‘Honky Tonk Popcorn’, had a long career in which true funk was just a blip on the radar screen. Doggett first came to prominence in 1956 with the legendary instrumental ‘Honky Tonk’. For the next 30 years he cranked out dozens of albums and 45s, working in R&B, jazz, soul jazz, blues and funk. Like many working organists in the 60’s, his curriculum vitae pretty much followed musical trends as they appeared. He made smoky, late night jazz, greasy dance floor R&B, dance party novelties, swinging soul jazz, hard danceable soul and eventually hard hitting funk (recording for King, Sue, ABC-Paramount, Columbia, Roulette, Warner Brothers and Verve in the 60’s alone). It was during that last phase that he had the good fortune to intersect with the Godfather of Soul, Mr. James Brown, with whom he created the 45 and LP of ‘Honky Tonk Popcorn’ (both hot as hell, and rare with prices to match). After 1970 (when he parted ways with the King label), Doggett recorded mostly for small labels, and continued to tour and perform. As far as I’ve been able to tell, his one 45 for the Chumley label was his last foray into all things funky. I don’t know much about the label itself, other than I’ve seen a few 45s (which look like soul/R&B stuff) on Chumley, but nothing by anyone as famous as Doggett. The label sayst that it was distributed by Famous Music (a Gulf + Western Company) so I’ll assume that Chumley was a small subsidiary of a larger company, but I can’t really say which one. ‘Funky Feet’ credited to Bill Doggett & His Orchestra, has some of the polished production it’s 1974 date might indicate, but things never get too slick. Things chug along at a nice tempo, with nicely arranged horns, jazzy guitar and sax solos, and then Doggett jumping in and taking things to the next level. The tune was arranged by Doggett and fellow organist Webster Lewis, and was produced by John Bennings (who wrote the score for the blaxplo-western hybrid ‘The Legend of N*gger Charley’). While the end result is about a thousand miles away from ‘Honky Tonk Popcorn’, I still dig it.

Bonus Track

The second record I’ll post today, is one I picked out of that huge 3,000 record haul a few years ago. What first caught my eye was the early, yellow V.I.P. record label (just like the Velvelettes 45s). The second thing was the name of the group, The Lewis Sisters (the Singing Schoolteachers). The first time I played the record, I can’t say that it made much of an impression on me (certainly not commensurate with the 30-40GBP prices it seemed to be fetching). I recently pulled it out to listen to it again, and found myself digging the tune ‘You Need Me’. Written by Berry Gordy Jr., it’s a slow, atmospheric slice of girl group/pop-soul with a fine arrangement and a great climactic chorus. So, I start searching the interweb for info on the ‘Singing Schoolteachers’ and much to my surprise, discover that the Lewis Sisters not only recorded a couple of 45s for VIP, and wrote songs for the Miracles and Edwin Starr & Blinky, but they also looked like a couple of the biggest slices of white bread I’ve ever seen. In the picture below they look like they ought to be singing Kumbaya at a Christian youth group instead of recording for one of the all-time great soul organizations (scroll down for the picture). According to their Allmusic bio, they started their careers singing jazz (working with none other than Les McCann), found their way to Motown (where in addition to their own 45s sang backup for Chris Clark), where Kay Lewis’s daughter Lisa would record a single as ‘Little Lisa’. Following their association with Motown, the Lewis Sisters moved to California where they worked as A&R people for the Canterbury label (home to many collectable Sunshine Pop groups like the Yellow Balloon and the New Breed. Basically just an interesting record with an even more interesting story behind it.

"Kumbayaaaaaa....."

Betty Harris - Show It

2006-04-12T12:56:00.000-04:00

Miss Betty Harris

Good afternoon. I’ll open today’s entry by hoping that Wednesday finds you well. Aside from the fact that my wife and son are away for a Passover visit to the old sod (that being the Schenectady metropolitan area), things are tending toward the hunky-dory-esque on this end. I’ll spare you another political rant, if only because things haven’t changed measurably in the last few days. The media (electronic and otherwise) in this country is still a disgrace, but nothing I say is going to make that change, so I will refrain (at least for today...). Today’s entry will be on the brief side, if only because I covered much of the related material in depth over at the Funky16Corners web zine a few years ago. If you’ve been here before, you’ve seen me discuss my passion for the soul and funk music of New Orleans, especially the work of Allen Toussaint on the Sansu label. Since the inception of the Funky16Corners blog, I’ve written about sides by Willie Harper, Lee Calvin, and John Williams & The Tick Tocks as well as non-Sansu sides by Sansu artists like Eldridge Holmes and Curly Moore. Strangely enough (at least to me) in over 160 posts in this space, I’ve never written up a side by one of my all-time favorites, Betty Harris. For the full story on Harris, refer to the feature at the web zine. Briefly, Harris, who recorded for Douglas and Jubilee early in her career and all but one of the balance of her sides for Sansu (the exception being her final 45, the funk masterpiece ‘There’s A Break In The Road’ on SSS Intl.), was the premiere female vocalist in Allen Toussaint’s stable, cutting 10 singles (more than any other artist on Sansu) for the label*. I have been collecting Sansu sides for years, and have gotten my hands on all but one 45 from the label’s “classic” years (i.e. Curly Moore’s ‘Don’t Pity Me’). Among my most recent acquisitions was today’s number, which - for reasons I haven’t been able to figure out – eluded me for years (it’s not a particularly pricey piece). Released in 1968, ‘Show It’ (and it’s b-side ‘Hook Line & Sinker’) is one of the finer records in the Harris/Toussaint collaboration. The record features a typically brilliant vocal by Harris, a tasty, danceable arrangement complete with stylish female backing vocals and strings. There’s also plenty of twangy New Orleans guitar to keep things grounded. Unfortunately, the best Betty Harris compilation ‘Soul Perfection Plus’ is out of print, and the currently available ‘Lost Soul Queen’ omits ‘Show It’.

Fortunately, Betty Harris is back in the game, performing and recording new music. * One was a duet with Lee Dorsey ‘Love Lots of Loving’ b/w ‘Take Care of Our Love’

The Soul Clan - Soul Meeting (and some more politics...)

2006-04-10T14:24:00.001-04:00

Messrs Burke, Conley, Covay, King & Tex

Good afternoon all. Here we are again, at the regular meeting of the Monday Soul Society/coffee klatch. The afternoon finds me (like Azrael Abyss, Prince of Sorrows) forlorn. The weatherman keeps promising that Spring is actually here, but I for one am not convinced. The first day I can walk around comfortably sans sweatshirt, or drive with at least one of my car windows rolled down (terrorizing the locals with loudly played soul and funk obscurities), I’ll believe that we’ve changed seasons, but right now I refuse to cooperate. As much as it pains me to do so, I have to start off another post with a political rant, though this one is less specifically about George Bush than about those of his ilk (I love the word “ilk”. Note to self, employ “ilk” as much as possible without sounding like a shill for the “ilk” lobby...). I was home taking care of my little sonny boy last week – he was working off a pesky fever – and spent a fair amount of time watching the cable news channels. It was funny (both “ha ha” and not “ha ha”) watching Fox News ignore the breaking scandal involving Fearless Leader’s inability to keep a secret, choosing instead to continue their racist/fascist jihad against the “Mexican Menace”, i.e. the crisis with illegal immigration (which just turned into a crisis when the Republicans decided that they were getting hit by too many pieces of rotten fruit – or the figurative equivalent - in the public square). I mean, really...it’s not like Fox News has ever been anything but a musty little circus tent filled to capacity with pinheads, flat-earthers, racists and Red-baiters, but sometimes the rhetoric that spills out of that place is beyond belief. Of course, were you to acquaint yourself with the Right-wing blog-o-sphere (another note to self: try not to use the word “blog-o-sphere” ever again), you’d realize that few of the new Right Wing memes that find their way onto Fox News haven’t already been road tested on the web in crypto-fascist loony bins like Free Republic, and the Pajamas Media cabal. It’s almost as if Fox News was only there as an echo chamber in which the Right Wing see and hear themselves reflected. In the past few days the channel has been a swirling vortex of outrage (“How dare they carry Mexican flags at these rallies?!”), the aforementioned Red-baiting (“Isn’t that a communist front organization?”), and out and out hysterics like suggesting that the Mexican immigrants are intent on a revolution that will re-claim the American Southwest as Mexican Territory, and that the rallies have been infiltrated with criminal street gangs. They portray the gun-toting self-appointed border patrollers the ‘Minutemen’ as some kind of concerned citizens group, instead of the dubious paramilitary enterprise that it is, and feature a steady stream of Republican officials from Border States rolling their eyes and pulling their buzzcuts out over the “problem”. Of course, everyone in Congress, Republicans and jelly-spined Democrats alike have waded into the controversy with a volley of conflicting legislation, as if all of our lives depended on cobbling together a knee-jerk solution as soon as possible. Here’s the deal, this is neither a new problem, nor has it suddenly increased to a level that requires this kind of hysteria. This country has had a shameful history when it comes to immigration, the part that illegal immigrants play in this economy, and using illegal immigration as an excuse to whip up Joe Six-pack. The people fanning the flames with a lot of racist, xenophobic rhetoric need to take it down a notch or two (or ten...). I think if we’re going to spend money “investigating”, it ought to be spent seeing how many members of Congress (and their big campaign contributors) employ undocumented aliens as domestics (household work or child care), in manual labor situations (either directly or indirectly, i.e. does your landscaper/gardener employ them, do they hold stock in companies that benefit from sweatshop labor?) or otherwise, and then apply the strongest fines possible. That, of course, will never happen. I’d also like to see the list of unemployed American citizens that are waiting to take the “jobs” held by undocumented workers. You know, those “jobs” that don’t pay minimum wage, or include any benefits, or have to follow labor laws or safety regulations. I suspect it would be a fairly short list. They (Fox, their minions and proxies) just need to shut the fuck up and try a little honesty. That said, James Wolcott has some very insightful things (and some pertinent links) to say on the issue.

I promise that I’ll lighten up on the politics just as soon as the political situation (as it is) lightens up (b/w the exciting track “Don’t Hold Your Breath”...). Anyhoo....It just wouldn’t be right for me to go on like that if I didn’t have an absolutely smoking track waiting at the end (c’mon...you don’t make someone eat their broccoli and then give them shredded wheat for dessert). No my friends, the track I had selected for today is a ass-kicker from the get go, top loaded with all-star soul talent (probably more soul talent by volume than any single 45 ever created). I speak of the mighty Soul Clan, and their very, very, very tasty ‘Soul Meeting’. For those of you that have never heard of the Soul Clan, the membership breaks down like so: Solomon Burke, Don Covay, Ben E King, Arthur Conley and Joe Tex. Formed in 1968 by Don Covay (who also produced the 45), the original version of the group was to have included Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. By the time things finally came together, Otis was dead (replaced by his protégé Conley) and Pickett had backed out (not sure why). Though this supergroup only recorded the two sides of this 45 (‘Soul Meeting’ and ‘That’s How It Feels’) there was also a Soul Clan LP that was composed of a variety of solo tracks by the group’s members. ‘Soul Meeting’ opens with Covay calling the roll, ‘Is Arthur here? Is Joe here? Where’s Solomon? I see Don coming in now, and Ben E’s with him.’ In what can only be described as some kind of Super Soul Tag Team extravaganza, Joe Tex takes the first verse, tags Ben E. King, who then brings in Don Covay, then Solomon Burke, and finally the junior member of the team Arthur Conley. The tune cranks along at high speed with a swampy guitar line, blazing horns and super-tight drums. The track made it to #34 R&B and #91 Pop, but no more was heard from the Soul Clan, at least in its collective form. Solomon Burke has claimed that Atlantic effectively killed the record in order to put a monkey wrench in the groups efforts at expanding Black control of the record business (I’m not sure how the Soul Clan 45 was supposed to do that), but I’d say it’s a lot more likely that the Soul Clan concept – which was really only there on the 45 – couldn’t gel long enough to gain momentum. There were plenty of white ‘supergroups’ that went right into the toilet. At least in the case of the Soul Clan, they never waded into the swamp of self indulgence, leaving behind a single, excellent 45 as their legacy. The Soul Clan reunited in the early 80’s, with Wilson Pickett replacing Arthur Conley.

The Chairmen of the Board - Since the Days of Pigtails (and Fairy Tales)

2006-04-07T15:07:00.000-04:00

Stand up and salute! It's General Johnson.

Friday has arrived once again, the weekend is upon us, and I must take this chance to say, huzzah! Kudos to the inventors of the weekend, the 40 hour work week (as it is), labor laws and health insurance (again, as it is…). I invoke these great – and often forgotten – pioneers, because if they ever had the opportunity to return from the great beyond, and see who’s running this country, they would, to the last, expire again immediately, their ghostly faces twisted in disbelief. Now, I know that this blog has always had a musical focus, but if you’re a loyal reader you know that I sometimes digress into political ruminations, and this is such an instance. George Bush is a lying motherf*cker. There, I said it. Sure, I didn’t have to resort to profanity, but I find it difficult to think of what Bush has done to this country without descending into a kind of subverbal funk where foul language is about as good as I can muster. Things are that bad. The specific instance of dishonesty I speak of, is back when the whole affaire de Plame got rolling, ad he expressed his displeasure with people that leak information, and how when he found out who it was that was leaking information, he was going to fire them. So, yesterday, we find out from the humorously named “Scooter” Libby (who’s real first name, hidden behind the initial ‘I’, must be so horrible as to never be revealed, because, when you think of it, why would any grown man - outside of a full time circus midget - go around calling himself Scooter?) has testified that it was Bush himself who OK’d the leak of classified information. He apparently did so after getting “legal” advice from Alberto “Dowatchalike” Gonzalez. So today, after an evening of deafening silence, Bush sends his greased weasel Scott McClellan into a hostile pressroom to split hairs, parse language, invoke ongoing investigations and generally add insult to injury by inflating the “lie pile” just a little bit more. Apparently allergic to straight answers, McClellan spent the better part of a half an hour dancing around the issue of the President’s no-leak policy by claiming that Bush was referring only to leaking of classified information (which he clearly wasn’t), and that the release of information he has “declassified” is not a leak, but merely contribution of information “in the public interest” (a phrase McClellan used over and over again, never convincingly) in order to counter “lies and misinformation” from hostile Democrats. Please… A leak is a leak is a leak, and if you sprinkle a pile of shit with diamonds, it’s still just a pile of shit. These people ought to be ashamed of themselves, but sadly, it appears that they are beyond shame. So, anyway, how’s about some music? I’ve gone on before about the joy of discovering a great new track, and haven’t been above admitting the instances when I had been unable to see the forest for the trees. This is one such instance. A few weeks ago, via a Myspace friend, Spain’s own Gruyere DJ, I received a link to download his New Years Eve DJ mix. I did so, and the mix was excellent, featuring a wide variety of rare funk nuggets, as well as a bunch of stuff that was not familiar to me. One such track appeared less than 15 minutes into the mix, and it was a killer. I immediately recued the tune (three of four times), listening to see if I might recognize the singer(s), or if any of the lines might reveal a familiar title. No such luck. So, I tried to contact Gruyere DJ to ask him who it was. The Myspace link wouldn’t load. So, I posted a query over at Soulstrut, figuring that one of the learned heads over there would recognize the refrain. Snake eyes…. Then I tried Google-ing the lyrics, only to discover that the main line in the chorus also appeared in a Jackson Five song (this was clearly not the same song, nor was it the Jackson Five). I thought I had reached a dead end. Then Myspace started working again, and I got a message through to my amigo in Spain. He got back to me in short order, and informed me that the track was ‘Since the Days of Pigtails (and Fairy Tales)’ by the Chairmen of the Board. So I start searching around to see how I an get myself a copy of this funky gem, and lo and behold, it turns out to be residing on the b-side of a huge hit, ‘Give Me Just A Little More Time’. Well, dip me in shit and call me stinky! Naturally, I found a nice copy for under ten bucks, and had it drop through the mail slot a few short days later. If you’ve heard the song (which I’m sure someone out there does), you’ll already know how smoking hot it is. If you’re as blissfully ignorant as I was, it should come as a very nice surprise indeed. The Chairmen of the Board was one of the top acts in Holland-Dozier-Holland’s Invictus/Hot wax stable. Formed in 1968, by General Johnson – who had previously been in the Showmen, who’s Beach Music anthem ‘It Will Stand was a hit in 1961 and 1964 (for Minit and Imperial) – Danny Woods and Harrison Kennedy, hit the top ten several times between 1970 and 1973. ‘Since the Days of Pigtails (and Fairy Tales)’ appeared on their 1970 debut LP, and was credited to Ronald Dunbar and Edith Wayne. The Dunbar/Wayne credit, which was also attached to Freda Payne’s ‘Band of Gold’ (among other tunes) was in fact a pseudonym for Holland-Dozier-Holland who were still contractually obligated (as songwriters) to the Motown organization. That LP also featured the original recording of Patches (written by General Johnson) which went on to be a huge hit for Clarence Carter. While the a-side of the 45, ‘Give Me Just A Little More Time’ is one of the most fondly remembered early 70’s soul classics - which strangely enough did better on the Pop charts (#3) than the R&B charts (#8) – it’s killer flipside is what we’re hear to talk about today. Starting off with a funky guitars and tambourine, the good General drops in with the first few lines before the congas, and then the drums kick the tune into gear. The first chorus takes things to another level entirely, bolstered by the horn section. The arrangement is clean, mean and delicious, with enough kick to please the funk fans and the dancers, and plenty of hooks for the pop crowd. Why this didn’t catch on to create one of the great two-sided hits of all time is beyond me. I’d place it up there with ‘Band of Gold’, and Laura Lee’s ‘Crumbs off the Table’ as the absolute best of Invictus/Hot Wax. So the next time you’re prowling garage sales and flea markets, bring along an extra quarter. You’ll be able to get your own copy of this killer. You can thank me then.

Sam and Bill - I'll Try

2006-04-05T12:48:00.000-04:00

Sam & Bill

Howdy y’all.... Allow to begin by apologizing for missing my regularly scheduled Monday post. Family responsibilities prevented me from hammering away at my keyboard like I usually do. I spent the extra time taking extra special care in making the selections for the next few weeks posts, and if you’ve been satisfied by the Funky16Corners bill of fare in the past, I assure you I have some gems in store. Normally, I try to pull six or eight sides that ought to hold me for a few weeks of posts. The selections are generally a mix of newly acquired gems and prime stuff that I keep aging in the crates like Kobe beef. This gives things a nice balance between my current enthusiasms and a nice vintage here and there from the Funky16Corners cellars. I already had a couple of excellent newbies burning a hole in the turntable, so I decided to grab a crate at random and see what grabbed me. Now, what I am about to admit will both displease my wife, while simultaneously filling her with a sense of satisfaction.

I have so many records I can’t possibly keep track of them all.

While many of my records are personal favorites that I spent a long time tracking down and treasure dearly, my crates are also filled with piles of things that I either never got a chance to listen to, or just didn’t grab me the first time I heard them. While some people might look at this as a form of “over consumption”, I prefer to think of it as a kind of vinyl slush fund, just waiting for me to dip back in when the flow of new heat ebbs momentarily. I realize that this sounds like a bit of “spin”, but it’s true. Nothing beats pulling out a handful of 45s that don’t ring a bell, slapping them on the turntable and discovering that you missed a couple of winners the first time around. This happens for a variety of reasons. Occasionally I’ll get my hands on a big lot (i.e. hundreds) of records where it’s just not possible to process it all in a limited time period. In a case like that, the inclination is to grab the obvious stuff first, and put the other “interesting” stuff aside for later investigation. As recounted early in the history of this blog, a few years ago, my father-in-law hooked me up with a massive lot of 45s (3000+), which my wife and I scoured over a period of several weeks. I started paring things down by pulling out all the obvious crap (either by virtue of content or condition) and putting it aside. I also pulled all of the obvious heat and put that in its own pile. The next (and biggest) effort was extracting everything that looked promising, giving it a spin and checking it out in the record guides. Once the wheat was separated from the chaff (there was a LOT of chaff), I had some nice stacks of funk, soul and 60’s rock that I would either sell or fold into my own collection (depending on how greedy I was feeling at the time). Some records made it into the “sales” box, and then later on bounced back into the “keepers” box. One such record was ‘I’ll Try’ by Sam and Bill. Originally formed in Newark, NJ in 1962 by Sam Gary (originally the guitarist for the Soul Brothers) and Bill Johnson (a member of the Steps of Rhythm, who recorded for Sun), Sam & Bill went on to hit the R&B charts twice with singles on Johnny Nash’s JoDa records. By 1967, Sam Gary left the duo and was replaced by Sam Davis Jr (no, not the Candy Man...). This version of Sam & Bill recorded 45s for the Decca label. Now when I pulled ‘I’ll Try’ out of the box, and flipped it on the turntable, I could only wonder where my brain was when I spun it the first time.

How did this record not grab me right away?

Was I not paying attention?

All I can say is that I definitely missed the boat, because ‘I’ll Try’ is an absolute killer. Further research reveals that ‘I’ll Try’ has its share of partisans on the Northern Soul scene, and it’s not hard to see why. The record features a strong beat for the dancers, great vocals by Sam & Bill, some wonderful hooks and a powerful arrangement that packs on the power right on up to the anthemic chorus. It’s the kind of record that bands like the Action made a habit of covering. I can’t imagine any self-respecting UK R&B band circa 1967 hearing this record and not wanting to add it to their playlist right away. The tune, written by a certain “F. Tanner” is filled with the kind of twists and turns, and decided pop flavor that mark the best “mod soul” sides. You just can’t listen to this record without visions of sweaty Englishmen (and their birds) doing the flip, flop and fly at a vintage allnighter. ‘I’ll Try’ is a new favorite of mine, and I hope you dig it.

Billy Harner - I Struck It Rich

2006-03-31T13:22:00.000-05:00

Wheeee! It’s Friday, it’s getting warmer outside, and I’m just about done with this godforsaken week. I mean, really. Some weeks fly by without a hitch and before you know it the weekend is upon you and all is well with the world. Not this week. The days have seemed painfully slow, and the nights strangely short. What up with that? And then, just when I was hoping that things couldn’t get any worse, I realize that daylight savings time begins this weekend, which means we lose an hour of sleep. AAARRRRGGHHHH!!! This of course means that I’m not going to sleep right for at least a week. “Spring forward” my ass..... Anyway, that optimistic forecast out of the way, it’s time for today’s selection. Unless you’re a habitué of the Northern Soul scene, or a soul music collector, (or a long-time resident of Philadelphia), the name Billy Harner may not ring a bell. If memory serves, the first time I heard any of Harner’s music was on the turntable at one of my old, favorite (and now sadly depleted) record spots, way out in rural Pennsylvania. I was picking through one of the hundred or so boxes in the room and pulled out a 45 with a tune on it called ‘Homicide Dresser’. “This looks intriguing”, I thought. So I put it in my “to be auditioned” stack and kept digging. Later that afternoon, when I was either too tired (or too poor) to continue, I settled down at the store’s turntable and started checking out the records. As was the case, a good 80% of the “blind” picks - i.e. records that were previously unknown to me but that had interesting sounding group/label names, or song titles – were duds. However, the remaining 20% were/are often better than I expected. Thus was the case with this Billy Harner record. It was a tough soul mover with an excellent vocal and arrangement. It wasn’t until I got home and started doing some research that I found out that Billy Harner was not only Philly-based, but was also a white guy. The surprise I felt at finding out the latter says a lot about the soulfulness of his voice. In the years since, Harner’s records have become favorites of mine, and I’ve tracked down a bunch of them, including his rare late-60’s LP. Harner started making records in 1964 as part of Billy Harner & The Expressions on the Lawn label. That year he would also record solo 45s for both Lawn and Cameo/Parkway. By the mid-60’s he was making records for Kama Sutra, including the aforementioned ‘Homicide Dresser’ and 1967’s ‘Sally Saying Something’ which charted in Philadelphia and several regional markets including New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans (I believe it was also issued overseas, possibly more than once). By the late 60’s he was recording for the local Philadelphia label Open/OR records, also home to the Persianettes. It was for Open that he would record a number of 45s and an LP. It’s important to note that at least one of his Open 45s – Honky Dory – was picked up for wider distribution by the Kent label, and he also managed to have a track (‘A Message To My Baby’) appear on an 1969 Arctic Records compilation ‘Donnie Brooks (Soul Finger) Presents 20 Great Oldies Various Artists’ (which included both Arctic and non-Arctic performers like Steve Mancha, Darrow Fletcher and Jamo Thomas). The LP he recorded for Open/OR, ‘She’s Almost You’ is composed largely of tracks that were also released on 45, and is quite good. The title track was a hit all over Canada (?!?) and in several US markets in 1969. Today’s selection ‘I Struck It Rich’, a Gamble/Huff composition was first recorded by Len Barry (speaking of Philly “blue eyed” soul) in 1966. While I dig his recording, Harner’s reading of the tune is far superior. The arrangement is tight and Harner’s vocal is outstanding. Sporting a tough four-on-the-floor beat, bright horns and snapping drums the record is understandable popular with the Northern Soulies. It’s one of my favorite Philly soul singles, not only for ‘I Struck It Rich’ but for the smoking cover of Bobby Parker’s ‘Watch Your Step’ on the flip side. Interestingly enough, though the label states that ‘I Struck It Rich’ is from the LP “She’s Almost You’, the version of the track on that LP is quite different, sounding as if it had been tinkered with after the fact. The mix is different, and someone has added incongruous tack piano in the chorus. That said, the rest of the album is excellent, and if you’re ever lucky enough to track down a copy, I recommend it highly. As far as I know, after he parted with Open Records, he only ever released one more 45, on the obscure 66+6 label, a funky cover of Chris Kenner’s ‘Something You Got’. Once you’ve heard the best of Harner’s 1960’s recordings, it’s difficult not to come to the conclusion that he should have become much better known. In my opinion he ought to rank with the best white soul singers of the era, including Mitch Ryder, Skip Easterling, Billy Vera, and Felix Cavaliere. Another piece of trivia, UK mod-revivalists the Prisoners apparently liked this record so much, they “borrowed” the tune from the chorus for their own ‘Thinking of You (Broken Pieces)’ in 1985. Aside from tracks here and there on soul comps, there is no comprehensive survey of Billy Harner’s work in print. Most of his 45s are findable at reasonable prices (most for less tan $25), especially if you live in the Philadelphia area. These days, Harner works as a barber in Camden, NJ (right across the river from Philly) and still performs on the oldies circuit.

The Four Larks - Keep Climbing Brother b/w It's Unbelievable

2006-03-29T12:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday all. Those of you who know record collectors, and those of us who collect records (at least those of us who are nominally self-aware) know that it has, like most collecting hobbies, and element of obsession to it (some might say sickness). This is manifested especially harshly in the actions of those – and I count myself among this group – that will hunt down certain records for years, even though they have a perfectly good copy of it on a reissue CD/LP somewhere. These records, which elude us over and over again, whether by virtue of their rarity or their expense (sometimes the same thing) are the elements that compose the storied “want list”. The want list is compiled, physically and mentally for sharing with those similarly afflicted as well as the facilitators, aka the folks sitting on stacks of rare records just waiting for folks like me to roll into their sights with a swollen wallet and a hungry look in my eyes. These are the record dealers. Anyway, the want list has, at least for me, evolved from a casual list of artists and labels that I hadn’t yet encountered in the field, into a carved-in-stone listing of records that I know I’ll probably never lay my hands on unless I’m willing to divert the odd mortgage payment (which I’ve sworn to my wife, under penalty of death that I would never, EVER do....really). These are the records that started out rare, got popular amongst collectors and as a result had their limited supply depleted to the point where – like a rent controlled apartment in New York City – someone has to die in order for one to change hands. Certainly, many of the records on my personal list aren’t THAT rare. I can assure that no matter how swollen my record collection is – and it is swollen – there are people out there that traffic in records that I’ve never heard of and will never be able to afford. Most of the stuff I’m still looking for are things that sit outside my price range, or are things that are so obscure, no one else knows/cares enough about them to offer them for sale. Some of my personal “white whales” have ended up in my crates for surprisingly low prices. Among the records in the first category (i.e. too costly) is ‘Groovin’ At The Go Go’ by the Four Larks on Tower. It is one of the all-time great Northern Soul records to come out of Philadelphia in the 1960’s and a big fave with our talcum spreading pals across the pond. It has also been heavily comped, so while owning a copy of the record may be tough, hearing it is extremely easy (which is why it’s so popular, etc etc.). The Four Larks were a Philly-based group initially composed of Jackie Marshall, Calvin Nicholls, Bill Oxedine and Weldon McDougal, though McDougal’s wife Irma would end up singing lead on most of their 45’s. Weldon McDougal is also the man that co-founded one of the greatest Philly soul labels of the 60’s, Harthon records. Starting in the early 60’s, they would release a string of 45s on the Sheryl, Arock, Priority, Fairmount, Wand, Tower and Uptown labels under the names the Larks, the Four Larks, Irma & The Larks and Irma & the Fascinators, in addition to singing backup on a wide variety of Harthon-related productions. Among their recordings is the stunning – though initially unreleased – ‘You Need Love’ by Irma & The Facinators which recycled the backing track from the Cooperettes ‘Shingaling’ to great effect. Over the years, I’ve managed to track down a number of their Tower and Uptown 45s – except of course ‘Groovin’ at the Go Go’ – and have enjoyed them all. A few months ago a friend sent along a sale list with a Four Larks record I’d never heard of. It was selling at a reasonable price, so I grabbed it. I’m glad I did. ‘Keep Climbing Brothers’ b/w ‘It’s Unbelievable’ was (as far as I can tell) the very last record the Four Larks ever released, sometime in 1969. The a-side ‘Keep Climbing Brothers’ is a funky instrumental, seemingly out of character with some of the group’s other sides. This can no doubt be attributed to changing times – things being funkier in 68/69. The cut features some rolling piano and funky drums, with a wailing sax soloing over most of the tune with the group chanting “Climbing! Climbing Brother!” in the background. The flip side is (what I believe to be) a remake of one of their first singles ‘It’s Unbelievable’. The tune – a not too distant cousin to the Flamingo’s ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ has some beautiful harmonies. Stylistically it can stand right alongside their other sweet soul classic ‘Rain’ (covered here earlier) . It’s so nice, I’m posting both sides of the record.

It would be nice if someone in Philly would get all of the Four Larks and related material together on a compilation. Weldon McDougal went on to work extensively with the Motown label in public relations/promotion.

The Electrostats - 21st Century Kenya

2006-03-27T13:02:00.000-05:00

Greetings all. Monday is upon us, and I can assure you that I was no more eager to depart the safe, warm confines of my bed this morning than any of you were. I had a sort of weird yin/yang weekend, one day spent hanging with old friends and family – good times all around – and another unable to convince anything thicker than tap water to stay in my stomach. It was, I assure you, a hoot. As I write this morning, all appears to be well. Was God punishing me for saying unpleasant things about his loyal servant George W. Bush? I mean, you’d kind of hope that God would be cooler than that, but you never know. Anyway... Today’s entry will be considerably less verbose than most, because just about the only incontrovertible fact that I can supply you with about today’s selection is that it was recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana. The record I speak of is ‘21st Century Kenya’ by the Electrostats. Released on the Three Oaks label - which was also home to Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington’s "Heavenly Vibrations (You Give Me)" / "Sun Ain't Gonna Shine" – the record features the funky instro by the Electrostats on one side, and the band backing vocalist Hillary McGinnis on the ballad ‘Weak As You Want To Be’ on the other. I first heard of the Three Oaks label back when Wax Poetics ran their comprehensive Eddie Bo feature. The Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington 45 I just mentioned was an Eddie Bo production (one of three 45s he produced for Washington on various N.O. labels) that was previously unknown to me, as was the label itself. Not too long after reading that feature, while a-Googling, I happened upon mentions of the Electrostats 45. After seeing a couple of positive comments from reliable sources, I decided to seek out my own copy. I finally scored onerecently, and the search proved to be worthwhile. Opening with heavy wah-wah guitar, the organ (which takes the lead for most of the song) comes in, followed immediately by the bass, drums and percussion. While the title and to a certain extent the percussion suggest an attempt to latch on to other Afro-centric funk sounds of the era (which I guessing is the early 70’s), the record doesn’t exactly scream dashikis and naturals. It reminds me a little – especially the organ - of another NOLA funker from the same era, Larry Foster’s ‘Funky Belly’ on Big Beat. There’s also a nice fuzzed out guitar solo. The Electrostats released at least one other 45 on Three Oaks, the extremely laid back ‘Setting The Mood’.

The Sherlock Holmes Investigation - The Pot's Hot

2006-03-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

The pensive - but funky -

Carl "Sherlock" Holmes

Here we go. Despite all of your fears and a sense of pure dread brought on by the “leadership style” of the numbskull in the White House, it’s Friday once again. Spring is upon us (though not that firmly if you live in the Northeast) and as a result, so is the mud. Aside from the general improvement in the average temperature, the departure of winter often seems like the morning after a particularly raucous bacchanal. The trees are grey and bare, the streets are scarred by road salt and all the garbage the ice and snow could conceal and the greenest lawn now looks like the main street of an old gold mining boom town, all rutted mud interrupted here and there by the remains of once healthy vegetation. As a result, we cling to the optimism that spring will inevitably arrive, but this is tempered by the ugly reality around us. So, to help give you the impetus you’ll need to survive an aesthetically draining weekend (especially if anyone in your house is a devotee of college basketball), I follow through on my promise from earlier in the week by posting a favorite from my Philly crates. Carl Holmes is not a familiar name outside of the sphere of record collecting types. This despite the fact that he had a pretty solid track record, recording for local and national labels through the 1960’s into the early 70’s. He formed Carl Holmes and the Commanders in the early 60’s. Featuring Holmes on guitar, Marco King on vocals, Sports Lewis on sax, Fats Howard on electric piano, Calvin Irons on bass and John Holmes on drums, The Commanders recorded a full length LP, ‘Twist Party at the Roundtable’ for Atlantic in 1962. The LP (from which a 45 of ‘Mashed Potatoes” was released) is a slice of rocking R&B, composed almost entirely of hepped up versions of classics like ‘New Orleans’, ‘Good Good Lovin’ and ‘Shout’. The Commanders would go on to record 45s for Parkway (the crazed ‘I Want My Ya Ya’), and Verve (‘Telegram’). In May of 1966 a pre-Experience Jimi Hendrix gigged with the group but never recorded with them. Their last recorded work is the super hot (and ultra-rare) 45 for local Philly label Black Jack, ‘Crossing Over’ b/w ‘Soul Dance #3’. By this point the group had been joined by local organist Pervis Herder (who's 45, 'Soul City' on Jamie is an R&B killer). I actually held a copy of this intense record in my hands once, but sadly, after weighing the condition of the record (dire) against the asking price (even more dire) I had to pass. By the end of the 60’s the Commanders had disbanded and Holmes had formed the Sherlock Holmes Investigation. A funkier outfit, the Investigation included Chico Green on bass, John Hammond on keys, John Daves on flute, Jimmy Towns on bass, Chubby Brown on guitar, Art Grant on sax and cats named Dickie, Peachie and Sly on vibes, congas and organ respectively. The group recorded an LP for Curtis R. Staten’s C.R.S. label (also home to at least one 45 by the Caprells) entitled ‘Investigation #1’. The disc included smoking funk like ‘Black Bag’ (which opens with a deadly break) and ‘Get Down Philly Town’, and smooth, soulful ballads like ‘Your Game’ and Burt Bacharach’s ‘Close To You’. This LP, like the Black Jack 45 is today hopelessly rare, pulling upwards of $300.00 if you can find a copy. There was one 45 released from the album, with ‘Your Game’ as the a-side, and the non-LP b-side ‘The Pot’s Hot’. Opening with doubled guitars, one fuzzed and one wah-wah, ‘The Pot’s Hot’ begins with a little bit of Latin percussion and a horn section before the fuzz guitar returns to take the lead for the rest of the song. The overall feel is a Latin-inflected funk with a slightly ‘uptown’ edge, especially when the flute and vibes come in together. The tune – like all the songs from the LP except for the Bacharach cover – was written by Len Woods, who was not as far as I can tell a member of the band. I have no idea what became of Carl Holmes after the ‘Investigation #1’ LP. It has since been reissued (without ‘The Pot’s Hot’). The 45 of today’s selection runs $40 - $50 when you can find it (I fortunately found mine years ago for much, much, MUCH less…).

The Johnny Otis Show - The Watts Breakaway

2006-03-22T12:20:00.000-05:00

Shuggie, Johnny & Delmar

Hey hey hey... It’s Wednesday. I can’t say a whole lot more about it. Despite the dubious institution of “hump day”, I can’t really get behind Wednesday as a siginifier of optimistic “glass-half-fullness”, in as much as it’s supposed to signify that our Sisyphus-ian efforts have not been for naught, and it should be all downhill from here. Baloney, I say. To paraphrase the great malapropist Yogi Berra, It ain’t Friday until it’s Friday. I think that secretly, way back in our minds, despite any hope we have that we’ve crossed a line of sorts and the sailing is going to be smoother from here on out, we all realize that this is true, and are dreading what Thursday and Friday have in store. Well my friends, I’m here to make it all better. I promised that I had some heaters in the on deck circle, and I wasn’t lying. As I sit here, listening to Roger and the Gypsies “Pass the Hatchet” – the very definition of “heater” – I know that even when you’re floating in a mid-week Sargasso Sea of deskbound bullshit, the right record can/will snap your head back, open your eyes and put a little glide in your stride Clyde. So, in the spirit of all things musically uplifting, I bring you today’s selection, a later entry from the Johnny Otis Show entitled ‘The Watts Breakaway’. For those that don’t know Johnny Otis was (and is) one of the true legends of West Coast R&B, getting his start in the 40’s and producing high quality material under his own name and for others (like his son Shuggie Otis and Preston Love) ever since. Starting his career as a drummer for Harlan Leonard’s Rockets, he assembled his own orchestra and started recording in the mid-40’s. He went on to discover Little Esther Phillips, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John and Hank Ballard among others. He scored a number of R&B hits in the 50’s, but had his first big success with ‘Willie & The Hand Jive’ in 1958. He continued to record (and produce, and discover, and do a TV show and a whole lot of other stuff) through the 60’s, and as times changed, the sounds coming out of the Otis stable changed as well. Shuggie Otis, only a teenager at the time was turning into a hot guitarist, and vocalist Delmar “Mighty Mouth” Evans had joined the Johnny Otis Show. Things were taking a turn for the funky. Perhaps the greatest example of this turn was 1970’s ‘The Watts Breakaway’. Written by Otis, and sung by Evans, ‘The Watts Breakaway’ is a super-funky, break-laden affair. Opening with a demented sounding bass riff, things soon get mighty clean, with a sharp horn section. Evans’ vocals are on-point, with the occasional interjection from Johnny, and some hot lead guitar from Shuggie. Sly & The Family Stone get namechecked too. As I said, the breaks are heavy, and despite a diggers wish for “clean” breaks, I really dig the way Delmar drops in with his UHNN’s, AHHH’s and what-not. I also really like when Johnny comes in near the end and asks

Johnny: “Delmar...how...come...I...can’t...do...this...

Watts....Breakaway....dance...as good as you can?”

Delmar: “Because I am the jumpingest, dodge-ingest,

dancing-est cat you ever knew!?

That’s solid! Evans, who appeared on a number of late 60’s/early 70’s Otis projects (including ‘Live at Monterey’ and ‘Snatch & The Poontangs’) , continued his career singing with the Johnny Otis Sgow well into the 80’s. ‘The Watts Breakaway’ has been comped (along with a bunch of Otis-related funk, including the Vibrettes 'Humpty Dump' - often misattributed to Eddie Bo ) on 'Watts Funky' (see below) .

Winfield Parker - Starvin'

2006-03-20T12:45:00.000-05:00

Mr. Winfield Parker

The weekend was a productive one. I was going through the crates, searching for some interesting and funky sides with which to blog-i-fy, and I lingered in my Philly boxes. As a result, the next week or two will bring four worthwhile Philly based records (not all in a row of course), interrupted by the occasional non-Philadelphia funk heater (and I do mean heater) for your pleasure. While I’m not technically a Philadelphian, I do have friends and family in the area and have become something of a Philly soul “nut” over the years, having spent time in various under-the-radar digging spots. Of course, the under-ness of said radar depends on what diggers you’re talking to. I’ve been in some real caverns that I thought were unexplored, only to find out that the real heat had been carried out years before by more intrepid types than myself. Of course the obscurity of the places where I find these 45s is irrelevant (except where other dusty fingered record hounds are considered), because ultimately the music is what’s important, and when you’re talking about 60’s and 70’s soul and funk music, Philly has as much to offer as almost anywhere in the US. Of “local” Philly labels, one of my personal favorites – due in large part to sides by the mighty Volcanos – is Arctic Records. Co-owned by Philly radio personality Jimmy Bishop, Arctic had it’s biggest success with Barbara Mason’s ‘Yes I’m Ready’. Their discography is marked by many great Northern soul sides, some gospel, and at the very end (1968/69) a couple of nice funk sides. One of the best of these (and one of the hardest Arctic sides to locate in decent shape) is ‘Shake That Thing’ by Winfield Parker. Sharing a backing track with another hard to find Arctic side – Honey & The Bees ‘Baby Do That Thing’ – the Parker 45 is sought after by funk collectors. Sadly, I’ve never been able to score a copy, and as a result, ‘Shake That Thing’ is not today’s selection. However... Searching for that very record made me keep my eyes peeled for stuff by Parker, and as a result, I happened upon the little stick of dynamite you find yourselves downloading this very day. Winfield Parker got his start in his native Baltimore playing saxophone with a local group called the Veejays, before recording for the first time with Sammy Fitzhugh & The Moroccans (how’s that for a name?) in 1959. He moved on to record with the Imperial Thrillers on Ru-Jac in 1963. He would record his first sides as a leader for that label later that year. He continued to record for Ru-Jac into the late 60’s, with one of his singles, ‘Sweet Little Girl’ b/w ‘What Do You Say’ being picked up and issued by ATCO in 1968. He recorded the aforementioned Arctic 45 in 1969 and then went on to record one 45 for the Wand label in 1970. He had his greatest success with the Spring label. His 1971 release for that label ‘S. O. S. (Stop Her On Sight)’ b/w ‘I'm On My Way’ scraped the R&B Top 50. Today’s selection, ‘Starvin’ was the a-side of his second and last 45 for that label. Produced (and co-written) by Philly all-star Bunny Sigler and Phil Hurtt, ‘Starvin’ is a powerful record. Opening with a jangling, but sinister sounding guitar, and supercharged horn blasts, Parker drops in with some soul screams before launching into the verse. The beat is hard and funky, and Parker is, as they say, hitting it. His vocal is relentless, and the band provides a more than adequate backing. I’m not sure what to make of a lyric like: You look good to me baby And I mean you no harm Cause there ain’t no soul sisters Over in Vietnam The energy level remains high into the run off groove, certifying ‘Starvin’ as a lost classic of Philly funk. The flip side '28 Ways (She Loves Me)' was penned by Carl Fisher (of the Vibrations) who also wrote the Volcano's 'Storm Warning'. Parker went on to record for the G.S.F. label, and later as a member of the group Best of Both Worlds for Calla. He continues to perform to this day, singing gospel as part of Winfield Parker & Praise. The track has recently been comped by the BGP label on ‘Living In the Streets 3: Bustin’ Out of the Ghetto’. Were you to seek a copy of the record to keep the lesser records in your crates warm and cozy, you might have to shell out $25 or so.

Texas Two-fer

2006-03-17T12:14:00.000-05:00

At last, it’s Friday. I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s St Patrick’s Day, and as an American of Irish descent I’m proud to say that I will once again refrain from participating in the huge, pulsing public nuisance that has come to mark this holiday. I’ve been to Ireland, and it’s a lovely place, filled with equally lovely people. It in no way resembles the St Paddy’s day crowd at TJ McDrunken-fucks, spilling green vomit on each others shoes while U2 plays in the background. Do yourself a favor. Grab a corned beef sandwich (a wonderful reflection of the Irish/Jewish concord in my own marriage), a bottle of Guinness (or Harp, or Smithwicks, or the delicious hard cider of your choice), rent a copy of ‘The Commitments’ and realize that the Irish really do have soul (literal and figurative). It’s also the good ole end of the week, which of course signifies that we have two days of leisure before us in which to catch up on lost sleep, family time, old movies, reading or whatever it is you like to do to relax. A hearty HUZZAH to the inventor of the weekend! In celebration of this time honored institution, it’s time to whip out – as I am prone to do – a couple of bangers worthy of a celebratory Friday. Today’s selection both hail from the once great state of Texas, now home to all manner of insane, Bible-banging, creationist shit-heels. I know that there are still plenty of good folk in the Lone Star state, but really folks, it’s time to either get the crackpots under control or move to higher (philosophical) ground. That said, no amount of religious hysteria can mask the fact that Texas has produced a very impressive musical lineage, running from the days of the territory bands, western swing, a grip of wailing “Texas Tenors” (running from Arnett Cobb, to Illinois Jacquet, to the mighty Booker Ervin), blues giants like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lightnin’ Hopkins, right up to giants like Sir Doug Sahm and the 13th Floor Elevators. On the soul side of things, you can’t do better than Bobby Patterson and James Young & The Housewreckers. My first encounter with the music of Bobby Patterson was back in my early 80’s college days and heard the Fabulous Thunderbirds cover ‘How Do You Spell Love’. I didn’t know it was a Bobby Patterson tune for years, but when I found out, and started digging for more I realized that ‘How Do You Spell Love’ was only the tip of the iceberg. A few years ago, when someone (I don’t recall who) hepped me to ‘My Thing Is Your Thing’, I was blown away. After a few moments of chimp-like marvelling at the clear yellow vinyl, I managed to get the disc on the turntable, and things really started smoking. Opening with a wobbly, phlanged sounding guitar, the horn section punches its way into the tune and get the ball rolling. Bobby drops in with a wailing vocal, dropping funky “UHNN”s here and there, right up into the anthemic chorus. The wah-wah guitar, and snapping drums move things along nicely, making ‘My Thing Is Your Thing’ a hot slice of Dallas funk. While Bobby was steaming things up on the Jetstar label, James Young & The House Wreckers were, uh, wrecking the house on it’s sister label (both Huey P Meaux related) Jetstream. Originally known as “Big Sambo” & The House Wreckers (there are pressings of ‘Barking...’ that list him as ‘Big Sambo’), the band originally came to prominence with the original version of ‘The Rains Came’, later a hit for the Sir Douglas Quintet.This later 45 is a funk classic. Featuring Young’s screaming sax and wild vocals, the drummer is in the pocket, and the guitar is bluesy. A very tasty groove indeed. If you happen upon a copy (not cheap, mind you), flip it over to hear the band rip off Jean Knight’s ‘Mr. Big Stuff’ with an instrumental version entitled ‘Funky Butt’.

Chicago Cubs Clark St. Band - Slide

2006-03-15T13:27:00.000-05:00

The 1969 Cubs

Howdy folks. Those that know me, and have followed by wild rantings over the years know that I am a stone organ jam freak, and that I seek out the sound of the wailing Hammond organ like Republicans seek out graft, i.e. relentlessly. Knowing that, my old pal Haim, a once and future record dealer (and expert) would often hep me to his new discoveries, and more often than not, I would reach into yon billfold and yank out some of the filthy lucre in order to exchange it for said records. It was during one such exchange, many years ago that he pulled a disc out of his crates that at first struck me as, how do they say, improbable. It was a 45 recorded by members of the 1969 Chicago Cubs, “singing” a version of Little Willie John’s “Fever” with rewritten, baseball-specific lyrics, entitled (unsurprisingly) “Pennant Fever”. I of course have little or no interest in baseball or any of the associated memorabilia, so I wondered aloud what about this particular record would interest me. Then Haim dropped the hammer.... He flipped the disc over to reveal an instrumental called “Slide” by the almost certainly mythical Chicago Cubs Clark St. Band. As soon as the needle hit the wax I knew I was going to leave his house with a slightly lighter wallet than I arrived with.* There, erupting from the grooves was the track you hear today. Led by a slamming soul Hammond, a grooving drummer and guitarist (I think the bass is Hammond pedals) lay down a smoking instro, sure to appeal to the dancers and the head-nodding wallflowers alike. Aside for the fact that the band includes an organ, it couldn’t have less to do with baseball, ballparks or any other part of the sporting picture. In the ensuing years, we often wondered what the source of the instrumental was. Eventually, one of the names on the label produced the only concrete clue. ‘Slide’ was arranged by Richard Rome. I first came across Rome’s name when digging for Philadelphia soul and funk 45s. His recording for the Fayette label “Ghost A Go Go”, and ultra rare organ instro likely of a mid-60’s vintage showed up in a few places on the interweb, and was subsequently reissued a few times in the UK. These days it is rumored to change hands for several hundred pounds (yipe). I have never seen a copy out in the field. Researching further, it turned out that Richard Rome was a busy man on the Philadelphia music scene of the 60’s and 70’s working as a keyboardist and arranger for many of the acts in the Gamble/Huff stable, like the O’Jays, Archie Bell and others. He also arranged all three 45s (every one a gem) by one of my fave Philly soul groups, the Formations (‘At The Top of the Stairs’ is no less than brilliant). So, what does this tell me? Not a hell of a lot, as it turns out. However, I’m willing to make an educated guess, that being...that someone in Philly (maybe Rome himself) was working the Hammond on ‘Slide’, and that the track ended up being leased to Chess Records, only to languish on the b-side of a novelty record. Though the track is credited to R. Spain and N. Alfred (neither of which ring a bell), the arranging credit for Rome, who worked exclusively in Philadelphia suggests to me that the track originated in the land of cheese steak and sweet soul. If anyone out there in blog-land has any more info as to the origins of this mighty track (or corrections to anything I’ve written today), please let me know.

* A little later I flipped my first copy of the 45 for the copy you see today, accompanied by the groovy picture sleeve (purchased from someone selling sports memorabilia, for the princely sum of $10).

Diamond Joe - The ABC Song

2006-03-13T14:08:00.000-05:00

Greetings all. And a happy Monday it is. My convalescence has been for all intents and purposes, completed, and I find myself as far back in the saddle as I’ll ever be. Those that follow my ramblings, here, and earlier at the Funky16Corners web zine know that I have a deep and abiding love for the music of New Orleans that approaches the level of obsession. Deep within that larger area of interest, lie several smaller obsessions, usually with individual artists that I’ve devoted time to collecting their records and what little information I can about their histories. Diamond Joe Maryland is just such an artist. Of the seven 45s that he recorded between 1961 and 1968, three of them are among my all time favorites – in any genre. In that brief period, he worked exclusively with Allen Toussaint, on the Minit, Instant, Sansu and Deesu labels, and as far as I’ve been able to tell made very little noise outside of New Orleans. This is of course a damn shame, as some of his records are of such a high quality as to be considered among the best made in NOLA or anywhere else for that matter) in the 60’s. His last 45 for Minit, 1963’s ‘Help Yourself’ b/w ‘Fair Play’ is an absolutely transcendant thing of beauty that I posted here last year. Suffice to say that it is one of Toussaint’s best early sides and features nuanced and powerful vocals by Diamond Joe. His last of three 45s for Sansu, 1967’s ‘Gossip Gossip’ b/w ‘Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ is one of the two or three finest records ever to appear on the label – and that’s saying a lot – and should have been a much bigger hit (God only knows why it wasn’t). ‘Gossip Gossip’ ranks among Toussaint’s best raw soul tunes, and Diamond Joe’s performance is nothing short of remarkable. It’s one of those records that I’ve played for people and almost universally get the reaction of “Why haven’t I heard this record?”. The following year, Diamond Joe made his last 45, after which he would fade into the background, never to record again. The A-side of that last 45, ‘The ABC Song’ is today’s selection. I find it odd that ‘The ABC Song’ isn’t better known, at least these days when the resurgence in interest regarding New Orleans funk continues unabated. It hasn’t been reissued, and is not well known outside of New Orleans fanatics like myself. This may have something to do with the fact that Diamond Joe is known amongst collectors mainly as a singer of R&B and soul, and that his final 45 came out on the later Deesu label, which was not particularly well distributed, produced no hits and as a result is fairly hard to find. That is not to say that it didn’t bring the heat anyway, as three of Eldridge Holmes best 45s were released on that particular imprint, including the brilliant ‘If I Were a Carpenter’ and Holmes’ own “lost” funk gem, “The Book” (written by Leo Nocentelli, and without doubt a future post in this space). Opening with a horn fanfare and some funky guitar, the band (who I’m pretty sure – despite all suspicions surrounding late period Toussaint funk sessions - are NOT the Meters) sets the groove as Diamond Joe drops in with the first verse. Things are decidedly rough, with a sound not unlike Larry Darnell’s Instant classic ‘Son of a Son of a Slave’. The drums are super hard, and Diamond Joe’s vocals get rougher as the song progresses, especially as he’s joined by the backing vocals. The band rolls along like one of those busted looking, old-timey muscle cars that looks beat but still has twice as much iron under the hood as anything else on the road. I guess if you’re never going to make another record, leaving a killer like this as evidence of your greatness isn’t a bad way to go. Sadly (very), the last I heard Diamond Joe was currently homeless. With the exception of his first 45 ‘Moanin’ & Screamin’ (which was on a UK ‘Minit/Instant’ comp), and most of his Sansu sides (which appear on the Sundazed ‘Get Low Down’ set), the rest of his work has never been reissued. I’ve never even heard his Instant 45 (if you’ve got a copy I’d love to hear from you).

Gene Dozier & The Brotherhood - Cold Sweat

2006-03-10T11:58:00.000-05:00

Mr. Gene Dozier

Hey hey hey! It’s Friday! Here we are again, primed for the weekend, during which one would hope to ingest the intoxicant(s) of their choice (or none at all if that’s your bag), and get as loose as time, propriety and personal standards will allow. Here at the Funky16Corners blog, we realize that any good weekend “loosening” session is best handled with the accompaniment of good music, more often than not of the soulful variety so as to increase the likelihood that the loosening is both thorough and enjoyable. I always like to lay down something hot on Friday’s, and this week is no exception. As I have some very hot stuff in the pipe for the next few weeks, I thought that while today’s selection should be “hot”, I might want to bring something to the table that while not, blisteringly, hair singe-ingly ferocious, is still toasty, delicious and thought provoking. I want to maintain an audience here…. That said, those of us that compose the rank and file of the “digger” community (though I dig as much with my computer keyboard these days as I do in the old fashioned “dusty fingers” way) know that you have to put in your time, and work your way toward soul nirvana over a period of time. This is achieved by putting in the hours going through crates and boxes, and working your way toward the chewy center – not unlike that of the storied Tootsie Pop – a record at a time. Over the course of this process, you encounter records in several levels, starting with the plentiful, obvious stuff (that had respectable chart runs), moving down to the cheap, but lesser known coolness, then encountering the slightly rare stuff, and eventually, assuming that you are both diligent and lucky, making your way to the molten, ultra rare core. Today’s selection is by an artist that occupies a niche in that second strata. Chances are, were you to mention the name Gene Dozier to anyone but a certified, record collecting soul fan, you would draw only blank stares. However, to any remotely experienced collector of 60’s soul, Dozier is likely to raise a smile. The three 45s that he recorded for Minit in 1966 and 1967 are a staple of the days when I first made my way through the layer of well known 45s and started to scratch the surface of the next level of rarity. Tunes like ‘Hunk of Funk’, ‘Testify’ and ‘Funky Broadway’ were all solid, soul/funk outings that probably take up space on many a diggers mix. While none of them pull much coin, that should not be a reflection of their quality, which in this case outpaces their cost. Gene Dozier (who also wrote and recorded under the name Billy Jackson, which I think is a pseudonym) got his start in Philadelphia working at Cameo records. By the mid-60’s he had relocated to Detroit where he had wanted to work for Motown, but ended up working briefly at the legendary Golden World label writing for Theresa Lindsey (‘Daddy-O’) and Pat Lewis (‘Let’s Get Together’) under the Jackson name. He soon found his way to the West Coast, where he signed with the Minit label and began recording as Gene Dozier & The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood sound was mostly instrumental, marked by a funky rhythm section backed by a full horn section, with Dozier composing, arranging and playing keyboards. The groups first 45, ‘Hunk of Funk’ was a Top 50 R&B hit. All the tracks that appeared on their Minit 45s also appeared on the 1968 “Blues Power” LP, which is where today’s selection – an LP only track – originates. One gauge of James Brown’s popularity is to look at how often his songs were covered (one need only look as far as the previous entry on the blog this week by Jerry O). Dozier & the Brotherhood were no exception, and their cover of the master’s ‘Cold Sweat’ is quite solid. Maintaining a funky groove, and featuring a wild trombone solo, Gene and his band also – and they get extra credit for this – keep the famous break largely intact. While it isn’t the sublime work of genius that graces the James Brown original, it’s still funky, and in the end, can we really ask for more? The rest of the LP, aside from an inexplicable detour into novelty on their version of ‘Mustang Sally’, is a groovy collection of some cool originals (‘Hunk of Funk’, ‘One For Bess’, ‘Soul Stroll’) and fairly obvious cover material like ‘Watermelon Man’, ‘Soul Man’ and ‘Hold On I’m Comin’’. Dozier went on to work as a pianist, composer and arranger through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s for the likes of Dusty Springfield, The Whispers, Minnie Riperton, The O’Jays, Shalimar, Lakeside and the S.O.S. Band among others.He also co-wrote Wilson Pickett’s ‘International Playboy’ (also covered by New Orleans soulster Lee Bates). You should also keep your eyes peeled for a late 60’s 45 by Washington DC’s Keni Lewis & The Dreams. The flip side of their DC Sound 45 ‘They Call Me Jesse James’ is a smokin’ instrumental, written and produced by Dozier called ‘The Charge’.

Jerry O - There Was A Time

2006-03-08T15:49:00.000-05:00

Mr. Jerry Murray aka Jerry O!

Here’s a little story ‘bout a man named Jerry-O, aka Jerrio, aka Jerry Murray. Through the years, as I dig deeper and deeper into the soul and funk vaults, I occasionally come across an artist that tickles my fancy, in such a way that I am thus compelled to seek out his or her story. Jerry-O was just such an artist. I figure the first time I came across Mr. Murray was probably a routine acquisition of ‘Karate Boogaloo’ on Shout, by far his most popular (and thus common, i.e. cheap) 45. As time wore on, I found some of his other 45s, and my interest suitably piqued, I started to do a little research. I had no idea. Jerry-O is a great example of a cat that discovered his niche early, dug in like a tick and refused to let go, even when it was probably clear that the old career train had long ago run out of steam and been relegated to an abandoned siding, south of Soulville. Between 1965 and the early 70’s, he wrote and recorded (for himself and others) a string of “dance craze” records that for all intents and purposes can be viewed as building blocks of funk (and later on, out and out funk). He started his career writing and producing 45s for other artists, most notable the Dukays. In 1965, he teamed up with Robert “Tommy Dark” Tharp in the duo Tom &Jerrio. They recorded a series of 45’s for the JerryO, Boogaloo and Paramount labels, that would lay the groundwork for the rest of Jerry-O’s career. After they split in 1966, Jerry-O recorded a string of 45s that would be nationally distributed on the Shout label (most were also released locally on the Boogaloo and Jerry O labels). Among these was his 1967 Top 40 hit ‘Karate Boogaloo’, which features Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson aka Dawn (as in Tony Orlando and...) as his backing vocalists. The funkiest of his Shout sides, 1968’s ‘Afro Twist Time (Um Gow Wow)’ is a proto-funk classic and should grabbed if located. Later in 1968 he ended his tenure with Shout and moved on to the White Whale label (home of the Turtles and the Clique among others). His White Whale 45s are by far his funkiest and wildest. Today’s selection, ‘There Was A Time’ was his last 45 for the label. Now, you can’t discuss a cover version of ‘There Was A Time’ without taking time to go back to the source, in this case the mightiest of the mighty, the man that wrote the book on funk, Soul Brother Numero Uno, the incomparable James Brown. When James Brown laid down the original version of ‘There Was A Time’, he created a record so powerful, that it stands to this day as a sort of three-minute manifesto on the importance of dance steps as a signifier of power, masculinity and all around coolness. It is a record that is powerful on it’s surface, and equally so as the listener peels away (with the guidance of the Godfather himself) the onion-like layers of the text. As the band pounds out the tune, in a rough, frenzied manner that suggests nothing if not urgency, James manages to lay it down so hard that the record itself seems to sweat. As I wrote a few years ago in the Funky16Corners web zine: “It was only a month later that the band laid down one of the most powerful sides in the JB canon, ‘There Was A Time’. It was as if James got together with the band and they decided that hitting Number One wasn’t enough. That the public wasn’t getting the point and something drastic had to be done. That something was ‘There Was a Time’. As the song starts, the Flames come in with their guns blazing. JB comes in early with what sounds like a false start, and then starts the verse. The lyrics sound like just another dance party, but the overall sound is much more serious. JB takes the words and sculpts (shouts/screams) them into a statement of purpose. A recognition that the release of the dance – at least driven by a band as godawmighty tight as the Famous Flames – is serious business. The band lays down a heavy groove, with extremely hot, over-modulated sound that betrays the fact that the tune was recorded not in a studio, but on the stage of the empty Apollo Theater in NYC. The intensity builds from verse to verse – rising at the end of each verse into horn blasts – and right there at the very end, when you hear: "There was a time. Sometimes I dance. Sometimes I clown. But you can bet, You haven’t seen nothin’ yet. Until you see me do The JAMES BROWN!" if there was anyone that wasn’t paying attention, they were certainly listening now. In a country who's cities were racked by riots, James Brown had harnessed the power of his band, and his own immense power as an entertainer and brought it’s full weight to bear on the idea of the dance as freedom (no bullshit…it’s there…just listen). “ If you ever get a chance, seek out the video of Brown’s performance at the Boston Garden in 1968. In a concert that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, which was broadcast on local television in an effort to keep the kids off the street to try to stem the tide of unrest, JB and the Famous Flames perform an absolutely searing version of ‘There Was A Time’ in which Brown uses the instrumental breaks between verses to bring the dances in the song to life. So, needless to say (though I’ll say it anyway), with ‘There Was A Time’, James Brown set the bar mighty high. This of course didn’t stop anyone from covering the tune, initially by Gene Chandler and Jerry-O, and later by Jimmy Lynch and The Soul Searchers. Jerry-O’s cover of the tune manages to remove some of the urgency of the Brown original, while maintaining a high level of energy. Jerry-O’s mastery of the dance craze/party record made him the perfect vehicle for the song’s basic message, and he takes that and runs with it. He picks up the tempo a couple of notches, and customizes things with a funky rap. The tune opens with a screaming horn section and the rhythm section starts to vamp right away. Jerry-O starts things right by tipping his hat to James Brown right away, and then namechecking his homeboy Gene Chandler “The Woman Handler” and his version of the tune (also worth seeking out by the way). He continues his preamble with a couple of screams, and his patented ‘My My My!’s, before segueing into the verse. Things are, of course, more spoken than sung, as was his custom, and strangely enough it works. He wisely omits Brown’s final verse and replaces it with an offhand mention of his own ‘Jerry-O Jerk’, and later the ‘Karate Boogaloo’, ‘Jerry-O Four Corners’, and last but not least, the ‘Jerry-O Get Down’. The band never slows down, and the end result is a very tight, funky record. Now there are folks out there that’ll tell you I’m nuts (for a wide variety of reasons), because they believe that Jerry-O basically remade the same record over and over again*. I look at it this way: Jerry-O, like many foods, is what they call an “acquired taste”. This is not to say that he is the musical equivalent of liverwurst, but rather that he had a very specific style, which once he discovered a working formula, he clung to for dear life. If you dig that style, you are likely to dig his records. If you do not, you may direct your attentions elsewhere, leaving more Jerry-O records for freaks like me and my ilk. I think you ought to check him out. After his tenure with White Whale, Jerry-O went on to record for Wand, and with E. Rodney Jones for Double Soul and Westbound. After that the trail goes cold. Jerry-O died sometime in the mid-70’s (he would have been in his mid-30’s by then). If you dig his sounds, most of his 45s for nationally distributed labels like Paramount, Shout and White Whale aren’t too hard to track down, though the later stuff is a little more pricey. His work on local Chicago labels is harder to find, and in many instances duplicates material that was released nationally. There was a comp that included most of his best stuff (including work with other groups like the Ideals) that is no longer in print, however following the link below will lead you to Amazon where copies can be procured from after-market sellers. *NOTE: Jerry-O had a habit (not at all unusual at the time) of recycling backing tracks over and over again under changing titles. For the Jerry-O story in much more detail, check out the story I did on him a while back in the Funky16Corners web zine. The discography includes annotation as to what tracks were recycled and where.