Funky16Corners Christmas – Baby Washington- White Christmas

By , December 21, 2014 12:41 pm

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Baby Washington

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Greetings all.

Today’s post begins our second week of Christmas-related soul, and what better way to start than with a tasty 45 by the great Baby Washington.

Justine ‘Baby’ Washington started her career in the mid-50s as a member of the Hearts, then an early incarnation of the Jaynetts before embarking on a solo recording career that lasted three decades.

Baby Washington had a string of R&B hits that lasted from 1959 to 1980, the bulk of them recorded for the Sue label.

Today’s selection, ‘White Christmas’ was originally issued on Sue in 1966 (with ‘Silent Night’ on the flip), then issued again on Veep in 1967.

Washington’s version of ‘White Christmas’ chugs along at a mid-tempo pace (the bass and drums are DEEP) with a great lead vocal, and some cool backing vocals.

The arrangement (by Frank Williams) has enough kick for the dancers, with some brass and strings mixed just enough to be noticed, yet not so much that the grit disappears.

What’s interesting is that the original Sue release is much sparer affair, with the strings, horns and backing singers added on for the Veep issue in 1967.

I’m still undecided which version I like better. If you go back and listen to the original, it has a great, basic soulful kick which I dig. However, the additions on the version I’m posting here today never rise to the level of gilding the lily, having been applied wisely.

All I know, is now I have to go out and find a copy of the Sue version.

I hope you dig the record, 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.

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).

 

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

One Response to “Funky16Corners Christmas – Baby Washington- White Christmas”

  1. doughboy says:

    Another Christmas gem, thanks for sharing. I like both versions of White Christmas too. The Sue version lean and mean. The Veep version with great backing vocals. It’s hard to choose. Fortunately, you can listen to both.
    Merry Xmas

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