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By Larry, December 25, 2016 12:07 pm

The Mighty Alen Toussaint

Greetings all.

Since it’s Christmas week and I’m taking some time to chill with the fam, I thought I would bring a couple of things up from the archive for your aural delectation.

What you see before you is a kind of ‘virtual boxed set’, the full, five part History of Allen Toussaint series that appeared on the Funky16Corners Radio Show at the end of 2015, right after Toussaint passed, and then from earlier this year.

If you didn’t catch it the first time around, and you dig Toussaint and Toussaint-related sounds, you couldn’t do any better than to pull down the ones and zeroes and spend an afternoon soaking in the sounds.

So dig it, and I’ll see you all later.

Keep the faith

Larry

 
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History of Allen Toussaint Pt1

A Tousan – Java (RCA)
A Tousan – Whirlaway (RCA)
Diamond Joe – Fair Play (Minit)
Chick Carbo – In the Night (Instant)
Chris Kenner –Johnny Little (RCA)

Willie Harper – A New Kind of Love (Alon)
Willie Harper – But I Couldn’t (Alon)
Benny Spellman – Fortune Teller (Minit)
Benny Spellman – Lipstick Traces (Minit)
Ernie K Doe – A Certain Girl (MInit)

Ernie K Doe –Mother In Law (Minit)
Stokes – Young Man Old Man (Alon)
Stokes – Whipped Cream (Alon)
Willie West – Hello Mama (Deesu)
KC Russell – Younka Chunka (Uptown)

Warren Lee – Star Revue (Deesu)
Warren Lee – Ever Since (I’ve Been Loving You) (Deesu)
Lee Dorsey – Ride Your Pony (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – Operation Heartache (Amy)
Lou Johnson – Little Girl (Big Top)
Lou Johnson – Walk On By (Big Top)

Benny Spellman – I Feel Good (Atlantic)
Frankie Ford – I Can’t Face Tomorrow (Doubloon)
Aaron Neville – Where Is My Baby (Bell)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt1
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History of Allen Toussaint Pt2

Eldridge Holmes – Emperor Jones (Alon)
Eldridge Holmes – A Time For Everything (Alon)
Eldridge Holmes – Humpback (Jetset)
Eldridge Holmes – Gone Gone Gone (Jetset)

Eldridge Holmes – Worried Over You (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Until the End (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Wait For Me Baby (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – A Love Problem (Decca)
Eldridge Holmes – If I Were a Carpenter (Deesu)

Betty Harris – I Don’t Want to Hear It (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Sometime (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Nearer To You (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Mean Man (Sansu)

Benny Spellman – Sinner Girl (Sansu)
Diamond Joe – Gossip Gossip (Sansu)
Prime Mates – Hot Tamales (Sansu)
Curly Moore – We Remember (Sansu)
Art Neville – Bo Diddley Pt1 (Sansu)

John Williams and the Tick Tocks – A Little Tighter (Sansu)
John Williams and the Tick Tocks – Do Me Like You Do Me (Sansu)
Rubaiyats – Omar Khayyam (Sansu)
Willie Harper – You You (Sansu)
Wallace Johnson – If You Leave Me (Sansu)
Wallace Johnson – Baby Go Ahead (Sansu)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt2

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History of Allen Toussaint Pt3

Allen Toussaint – Get Out of My Life Woman (Bell)
Allen Toussaint – Hands Christian Anderson (Bell)
Allen Toussaint – We the People (Bell)
Allen Toussaint – Sweet Touch of Love (Scepter)
Allen Toussaint – Country John (Reprise)

Betty Harris –There’s a Break In the Road (SSS Intl)
Diamond Joe – The ABC Song (Deesu)
Earl King – Tic Tac Toe (Wand) 1970
Earl King – Street Parade (Kansu) 1970
Lou Johnson – Frisco Here I Come (Volt)
Rhine Oaks – Tampin’ (Atco)

Lee Dorsey – Four Corners Pt1 (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On) (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – Give It Up (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – A Lover Was Born (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further (Polydor)

The Meters – Cardova (Josie)
The Meters – Good Old Funky Music (Josie)
Ernie K Doe – Here Come the Girls (Janus)
Willie West – Fairchild (Josie) 1970
Eldridge Holmes – Pop Popcorn Children (Atco)
Eldridge Holmes – The Book (Deesu)
Aaron Neville – Hercules (Mercury)
Labelle- Lady Marmalade (WB)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt3
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History of Allen Toussaint Pt4
Kent Allan – What Have I Done (ALON)
Willie Harper – Cloudy Weather (ALON)
Willie Harper – I’ll Never Leave You (ALON)
Stokes – Crystal Ball (ALON)
Stokes – One Mint Julep (ALON)
Art Neville – Too Much (Instant)

Raymond Lewis – Nice Cents Worth of Chances (Instant)
Buddy Skipper – Restless Breed (Smash)
Eldridge Holmes – CC Rider (ALON)
Eldridge Holmes – Poor Me (Alon)
Ernie K Doe – Hey Hey Hey (MInit)

John Williams and the Tick Tocks – Blues Tears and Sorrows (Sansu)
Rubaiyats – Tomorrow (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Can’t Last Much Longer (Sansu)
Diamond Joe – Look Way Back (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Selfish Woman (Brown Sugar)
Eldridge Holmes – Love Affair (Brown Sugar)

KC Russell – How Tired I Am (Uptown)
Lee Dorsey – There Should Be a Book (Amy)
Lee Calvin – You Got Me (Sansu)
Willie and Allen – Baby Do Little (Sansu)
Allen Toussaint – I Got That Feelin’ Now (Bell)

William D Smith – Take Your Pick (Do Your Trick) (WB)
William D Smith – I Feel Good With You Baby (WB)
The Meters – Here Comes the Meter Man (Josie)
Wallace Johnson – On My Way Back Home (RCA)
Wallace Johnson – I Miss You Girl (RCA)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt4
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History of Allen Toussaint Pt5
Betty Harris – Hook Line and Sinker (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Show It (Sansu)
Betty Harris – I’m Gonna Git Ya (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Beverly (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Where Is Love (Decca)

Allen & Allen – Tiddle Winks (Minit)
Allen & Allen – Heavenly Baby (Minit)
Art Neville – Come Back Love (Instant)
Lee Calvin – Easy Easy (Sansu)
Ernie K Doe – Fly Away With Me (Janus)
Lee Dorsey – Sneaking Sally Through The Alley (Polydor)
Meters – Chug Chug a Lug (Reprise)

O’Jays – Lipstick Traces (Imperial)
Mel Taylor – Young Man Old Man (WB)
Willie Harper – A Certain Girl (Tou Sea)
Mohawks – Ride Your Pony (Pama)
Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Get Out Of My Life Woman (Elektra)

Esther Phillips – From a Whisper To a Scream (Kudu)
Pointer Sisters – Yes We Can Can (Blue Thumb)
Eldridge Holmes – Cheating Woman (Atco)
William D Smith – We All Wanna Boogie (WB)
Rhine Oaks – Oleancler (Atco)
Robert Palmer – Sneaking Sally Through the Alley (Island)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt5

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, December 22, 2016 11:24 am

Funky16Corners Christmas Party!
Ike and Tina Turner – Merry Christmas Baby (WB)
Otis Redding – White Christmas (Atco)
Soulful Strings – Jingle Bells (Cadet)
Albert King – Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’ (Stax)
Felice Taylor – It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring) (Mustang)
Honey and the Bees – Jing Jing a Ling (Chess)
The Gems – Love For Christmas (Chess)
James Brown – Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto (King)
Charles Brown – Merry Christmas Baby (Jewel)
Count Sidney and the Dukes – Soul Christmas (Goldband)
Donny Hathaway – This Christmas (Atco)
Bobby Holloway – Funky Little Drummer Boy (Smash)
Clarence Carter – Backdoor Santa (Atlantic)
Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get It Together This Christmas (Fania)
J Hines and the Boys – A Funky X-Mas To You (Nation-Wide)
Freddy King – I Hear Jingle Bells (Federal)
Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore – All I Want For Christmas Is Your Love (Imperial)
Johnny and Jon – Christmas in Viet Nam (Jewel)
John Lee Hooker – Blues For Christmas (Elmor)
George Conedy – El Nino Del Tambor (Kent Gospel)
Soulful Strings (feat Dorothy Ashby) – Merry Christmas Baby (Cadet)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Christmas Party 124MB MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is nigh and so then is the Christmas Edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which arrives each and every Friday with a selection of platters, soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all original. You can subscribe  to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via Stitcher and TuneIn, grab it on Mixcloud or get an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com

What you have here is a re-posting of last year’s Funky16Corners Christmas Party mix, which gathers together an hour-long selection of holiday favorites that have been posted here over the years into one nice, juicy, festive, jingling, jolly package.

There’s all manner of soul and funk (and even a little blues) and it’s the perfect soundtrack for your wassailing, cider-mulling, gift giving and general merriment.

I hope you dig it, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, that you have a fantastic day!

See you next week with some special post-holiday collections.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 20, 2016 11:34 am

Freddy King

Greetings all.

We continue our tunes for the holidays with the flipside of a Freddy King record I posted last year around this time ‘I Hear Jingle Bells’).

This side is the bluesier, more melancholy ‘Christmas Tears’.

Released in 1961, and written by pianist Sonny Thompson (who plays on the track) and R.C. Wilson, it features King as rock solid guitarist (the role for which he is best known) and as an excellent vocalist (the part of the equation that is often forgotten).

King had a great tenor voice with enough flexibility to soar high into the rafters whenever he needed to.

It is a groovy one, indeed, and I hope you dig it.

We’ll be back right before Christmas with the Funky16Corners Christmas Party Mix.

Until then, be safe, be jolly (and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, just keep on being cool), and stay warm.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, December 18, 2016 12:25 pm

The Staple Singers

Greetings all.

I thought we’d get our holiday festivities underway this year with a lovely two-sider from the mighty Staple Singers.

Originally recorded at part of their 1962 LP ‘The 25th Day of December’, ‘There Was a Star’ and ‘The Virgin Mary Had One Son’ were also released as a 45 that same year.

I have gone on in this space before about the pure, elemental power of the Staple Singers records, combining their group harmonies, Mavis’s soaring, explosive voice, and Pops’ Delta-rooted guitar playing into a thing of pure beauty.

‘There Was a Star’, written by Pops, and William Westbrook (though the 45 lists a third composer with the last name of ‘Rice’ but I haven’t been able to find out who that is, and most other sources only list the two writers), features a great lead by Mavis and call-and-response harmonies by Pops, Pervis and Cleotha. The backing is very spare, mainly Pops guitar, drums and a very judiciously applied organ popping in now and then.

‘The Virgin Mary Had One Son’ is a slow, almost mournful traditional song delivered with Mavis in the lead and group harmony over a bed of Pops vibrato guitar and drawn out organ notes. I haven’t been able to find any information about the source of the song, but it was also covered around the same time by Bob Gibson and Joan Baez together, and by Baez solo.

The 45 is a great microcosm of the earlier Staples sound, and like everything they ever recorded, a pure pleasure to listen to.

So dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something by Freddy King.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 15, 2016 2:02 pm

Ike and Tina with one of the various iterations of the Ikettes

Listen/Download – Ike and Tina Turner and the Ikettes – I Want To Take You Higher MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which arrives each and every Friday laden with the finest in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can (and should) subscribe to (and rate) the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device with Stitcher, TuneIn or Mixcloud, or grab yourselves an MP3 right out of the Radio Show Archive right here at Funky16Corners.com.

The discography of Ike and Tina Turner is a very deep well indeed, into which we have dipped (and will continue to dip) repeatedly over the years.
During their long marriage and musical collaboration (both tempestuous) Mr and Mrs Turner made some of the heaviest R&B, soul and funk created during the 60s and 70s.

Tina had (and has) one of the great soulful wails, and Ike had remarkable musical instincts, as a composer, bandleader and producer (so remarkable that he ought to be remembered for his music as much as hs is for his reckless personal life and habits).

Today’s selection is a 45 pulled from their 1970 LP (in which the Ikettes get co-billing) ‘Come Together’, which featured a number of Ike Turner originals alongside covers of the Rolling Stones (Honky Tonk Women), the Beatles (Come Together) and the song you see before you today, Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘I Want To Take You Higher’.

Ike and Tina, having already borrowed from Sly (the riff from ‘Bold Soul Sister’ having originated in Sly’s ‘Sing a Simple Song’), return to his catalog for a straight cover.

The Ike and Tina take on ‘…Higher’ is hard-hitting, with Tina trading lines with the Ikettes, a heavy bass, wah wah guitar and a well-placed horn section.

The arrangement isn’t much of a departure from the OG, but you get to hear Tina working it out in place of Sly, and a solid guitar solo from Ike.
I was surprised to discover that this 45 was actually something of a hit, grazing the R&B Top 20 and making it into the Pop Top 40 in the Summer of 1970.

It is further testament to the heaviness of Ike and Tina, collectively and as individual giants of soul.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, December 13, 2016 12:02 pm

The Glass House

Listen/Download – The Glass House – Crumbs Off The Table MP3

Greetings all.

One of the first funky records I really fell in love with back in the day was Laura Lee’s epic ‘Crumbs Off the Table’, a record that still holds firm place in my all-time Top 10.

It is one of the finest productions to emerge from the house of Invictus/Hot Wax, Holland/Dozier/Holland’s amazing, post-Motown operation.

It was a few years after digging that record that I happened upon the 45 you see before you today, a version of the very same song by a group called the Glass House.

The Glass House version is not only the original recording of the song (written by H/D/H under the Ronald Dunbar/Edith Wayne psuedonyms), predating Laura Lee’s release (on the Hot Wax label) by three years. It was also the very first 45 released on Invictus after H/D/H’s break with Berry Gordy and Motown.

The Glass House was composed of Scherrie Payne (sister of Freda), Ty Hunter (who had been in the Originals) , Pearl Jones (who had recorded as Barbara Mercer) and Larry Mitchell. They were formed in 1969 and recorded two albums and a grip of 45s for Invictus between then and 1972, and during that period placed five records in or near the R&B Top 40.

‘Crumbs Off the Table’ was their biggest hit, making it into the R&B Top 10 (Pop #60) in the late Summer of 1969.

Their version of the song is very cool, edging over into funkadelic territory with some twangy guitar and a funky groove. Things are taken at a more relaxed pace than the Laura Lee version, and it has a great lead vocal by Scherrie Payne.

Of the group, only Scherrie Payne recorded extensively after their dissolution.

Edsel Records in the UK did a very nice reissue of the group’s two albums (plus bonus tracks) in 2010 and there is a solid Best Of available in iTunes.

I hope you dig the tune and I’ll see you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 11, 2016 12:15 pm

Trudy Pitts looking badass!

Listen/Download – Trudy Pitts – Bucketful of Soul MP3

Greetings all.

I come to you today after a brief dip in my Hammond crates, after which I surfaced with the record you see before you clenched in my teeth (not really, but you dig, right?).

I am always happy to come across a groovy organ 45, but a little more so when it turns out to be evidence of the small but very cool sorority of female Hammond slingers (which also included Shirley Scott, Bu Pleasant, Rhoda Scott, and Merritt Hemmingson).

Trudy Pitts was one of the finest members of that group, as well as being part of the slightly larger group of Philadelphia-based organists (Jimmys Smith & McGriff, Charlie Earland e.g.) , of which there are/were many.

Pitts was born in 1932 and started recording in the early 60s, often with her husband, Bill Carney (often billed as “Mr C”) on drums.

Today’s selection, a Bucketful of Soul’ originally appeared as on the 1968 album of the same name, on which Mr C gets equal billing, and the couple was joined by soul jazz guitar master Wilbert Longmire.

The tune is a groover, with Carney and Longmire providing a base on which Pitts was able to solo extensively (even though the track is only three minutes long, edited down to about a minute shorter than the LP version), and stylishly.

‘Bucketful of Soul’ is a great example of mid-60s Hammond, never getting too far out, but definitely packing a more modern punch than the more R&B, or straight jazz sounds of a few years earlier.

Pitts recorded four albums for Prestige in 1967 and 1968, went on to guest on a number of Rahsaan Roland Kirk LPs in the 70s, and continued to play and record until here death in 2010.

Her LPs can be difficult to come by, but are all worth picking up. There was a CD reissue of a bunch of her Prestige material with Pat Martino, but it appears to be out of print. Some of her later, self-released albums are available in iTunes.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, December 8, 2016 2:27 pm

Listen/Download – Ann Mason featuring Little Mac and the Boss Sounds – You Can’t Love Me (In the Midnight Hour) MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, and so is your weekly dose of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, coming to you with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via Stitcher, TuneIn and Mixcloud or grab an MP3 out of the archive right here at Funky16Corners.com

The tune I bring you today is one of those excellent 45s from the classic soul era that, despite having more than one international issue at its time of release, carries in its wake little to no information about the artists.

You have heard both sides of this 45 on the Funky16Corners Radio Show (and in various mixes here at the blog) over the years, both the groovy organ instro by Little Mac and the Boss Sounds (actually the A side of the record) and the side I bring you today, ‘You Can’t Love Me (In the Midnight Hour)’ by Ann Mason.

Released in 1965, it is in most ways an answer record to Wilson Pickett’s huge hit of that year, but is also basically just that song with new lyrics.

There is literally nothing out there about Ann Mason.

The assumption has always been that she was from the Carolinas, much like the backing band that was led by Little Mac, aka Billy Mack aka Billy McDougal, a blind organist and singer from Greensboro, NC.

That said, it would appear that she never made another record (as opposed to Mack/McDougal who made several).

Her performance is powerful and self assured, and the record has been a dance floor favorite in the UK and France, both countries that saw issues of this 45 (on Atco).

As I mentioned, Little Mac made a bunch of his own records (under a couple of names), one of which I will drop here in the near future.

Until then, if you have any information about Ann Mason, please drop me a line.

I hope you dig the tune and have yourself a great weekend.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 6, 2016 7:14 pm

Up All Night With Freddy King!

Listen/Download – Freddy King – Funky MP3

Greetings all.

Freddy (Freddie) King was a blues master.

At least that’s what the title of his 1969 album said.

But King was much more than that.

If you have been a reader of the Funky16Corners blog for a while, you will have seen Freddy King’s stuff posted on the blog and played on the radio show.

He is a big fave of mine, from his influential early hits like ‘San-Ho-Zay’ and ‘Hideaway’all the way up to his Shelter Records albums.

King was, like Albert Collins, much more than a straight “blues” player, delving into R&B, soul and rock, and on today’s record, funk.

Recorded in 1969, with King Curtis’s band (the King co-wrote the song as well) augmented with cats like David ‘Fathead’ Newman, James Booker and Melvin Lastie, ‘Funky’ is a hard-charging instrumental that sounds like someone covered ‘Memphis Soul Stew’ with rocket fuel and lit it up.

The drumming by NY sessioner Norman Pride is rock solid (listen to that bass drum!) and King’s guitar is razor sharp.

King’s (who was also an outstanding singer) guitar playing was powerful, economical, and imaginative, and his influence on a generation of white (mosty English) guitar players cannot be overstated.

He even gets a namecheck in Grand Funk Railroad’s ‘We’re An American Band’!

Sadly, king passed away at the age of 42 in 1976, by all accounts having worked/partied himself to death (working 300+ dates a year and consuming more alcohol than food).

His work is pretty easy to put your hands on, on vinyl and digitally (his Federal/King, Cotillion and Shelter stuff is available in iTunes) , and if you’re not hip, you should get so, ASAP.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 4, 2016 9:30 am

The Young Rascals

Listen/Download – The Young Rascals – Come On Up MP3

Listen/Download – The Young Rascals – Mickey’s Monkey/Lovelight MP3

Greetings all.

The new week is here, and I thought we’d dip into some of that good, Garden State soul.

Funky16Corners has touched on the blue-eyed/equal opportunity soul thing many a time (including a couple of episodes of the podcast) simply because there’s a lot of it and much of that is outstanding.

There has always been a lot of controversy within the collector world about white soul singers because soul, funk and R&B are all predominantly/originally African-American art forms, but like jazz, there were a grip of white artists, producers, songwriters and arrangers who contributed to the growth of the sound from the very beginning.

There were – as is the case in most things – people that were predatory/along for the ride, but there were also a lot of non-black artists (I use that term because of the prevalence of Latino artists) who were quite talented and dedicated themselves to the sound, making lots of outstanding music.

Among this group were New Jersey’s own Young Rascals/Rascals.

Formed in Garfield, NJ, the Young Rascals were a predominantly Italian-American group which had (mostly) worked previously in Joey Dee and the Starliters.

They had the good fortune to have two outstanding singers in their ranks, with Felix Cavaliere (also a great organist) and Eddie Brigati, a shit-hot drummer in Dino Danelli and the outstanding guitar work of Gene Cornish.

They were the most successful blue-eyed soul group of all time, having had five Top 40 R&B hits between 1967 and 1969, as well as more than a dozen Top 40 Pop hits.

Though their sound incorporated rock as well as soul, they carried their soul sound all the way until the group’s dissolution in the early 70s, writing great originals as well as covering existing soul material.

The tracks I bring you today come from the group’s 1966 LP ‘Collections’.

‘Come On Up’, (written by Felix Cavaliere) which was a hit in September of 1966 is a perfect example of a song that would have worked well in the hands of Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett (who covered ‘Love Is a Beautiful Thing’ from this album). It’s one of those great “set starter” songs that builds in intensity as the verse moves into the chorus, with a fantastic vocal by Cavaliere and some searing guitar by Cornish.

The group’s medley of the Miracles ‘Mickey’s Monkey’ and Bobby Bland’s ‘Turn On Your Love Light’ (mysteriously credited to Gerry Roslie of the Sonics) sound like it would have been a highlight of their live set.

Danelli’s drums are hot as a pistol, and the lead vocals switch between Felix (Mickey’s Monkey) and Eddie (Love Light).

The rest of the album (which like most of their ought to be cheap and easy to find) is excellent, with a mix of originals and covers.

I hope you dig the tracks, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 1, 2016 11:29 am

Cody Black

Listen/Download – Cody Black – Stop Trying To Do What You See Your Neighbor Do MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is nigh, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday (on iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, Mixcloud and Funky16Corners.com) with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl.

We end the week with a later side from one of those singers beloved by the Detroit aficionados on the UK soul scene (yet barely here in the US).

Cody Black came up in Ohio (not far from King Records) , but did the bulk of his recording for a variety of Detroit labels from 1961 into the mid-70s.

His work is of a consistently high quality, yet he never really had more than regional success (in and around Detroit) until he was discovered by the Soulies in the UK.

Today’s selection ‘Stop Trying To Do What You See Your Neighbor Do’ was released in 1970 on Capitol, produced by Ted White (the former Mr Aretha Franklin) and co-written by Black and Tony Johnson (of Tony and Tyrone).

‘Stop Trying…’ was recorded in the Motor City yet has many of the hallmarks of Southern soul from around the same time.

The relaxed, yet slightly funky beat, the piano, bass and guitar are all very cool, and the female backing singers drop in at all the right times.

Black has a cool, slightly raspy and very flexible voice.

The flipside, ‘Ain’t No Love Like Your Love’ has more of a gospel flavor to it (so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a reworking of an actual gospel song).

He recorded a series of singles with White’s Stone’Roc outfit in 1969 and 1970, and doesn’t seem to have entered the studio again until the late 70s.

Black’s 45s from this era are fairly cheap and easy to find, unlike his earlier Northern sides, many of which are very rare, and very, very expensive.

I hope you dig the cut, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, November 29, 2016 1:05 pm

Jackie’s back!

Listen/Download – Jackie Lee – African Boogaloo MP3

Greetings all.

Jackie Lee should be a very familiar name to those of you that hit Funky16Corners on the reg, considering how many times his sounds have appeared in this space, in mixes or on the podcast.

He was one of the truly great figures of the Los Angeles 60s soul scene, on his own, as half of Bob and Earl, and under a variety of pseudonyms.
You can brush up on his history here and here.

That all said, today’s selection is one of the very first Jackie Lee 45s that I ever popped into my crates, and it is one of his funkiest.

‘African Boo-ga-loo’ was released in 1968, and bears the fine pedigree of having been written by Earl Nelson (aka Jackie Lee himself), produced by Fred Smith (one of the signature producers on the LA scene) and arranged by James Carmichael (right up there with Fred Smith).

It was also one of his bigger hits, having grazed the R&B Top 40 in the Spring of 1968 as well as finding some regional Pop success in New York and New Orleans.

It has that patented, stylish LA sound, with a very heavy bass line, some groovy organ, sax and harmonica, and some cool female backing vocals.
Jackie is – of course – in fine shape, and he delivers the Jerry-O-esque lyrics with verve.

He would duplicate his success a few years later with the funky ‘The Chicken’ on UNI (which made a similar shot at the R&B charts and strangely enough more regional success in New York).

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.