Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore – Day Tripper

By , February 11, 2016 1:16 pm

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Mamie Galore and Dee Irwin

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Listen/Download – Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore – Day Tripper MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is nigh, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, coming to you each and every week 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 (really the best way to keep abreast), listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, listen on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com.

The record I bring you today is yet another fine disc in the long-running saga of Big Dee Irwin.

Irwin (or Ervin, or Erwin) was one of those 1960s soul cats who doesn’t seem to have left much of a ‘footprint’, until you start digging and realize that he was all over the place as a singer, songwriter and producer.

The fact that he recorded under a few different names, and in duets with Little Eva and Mamie Galore (like with today’s selection) makes it hard to nail down the breadth of his discography without some work.

His real name was DiFosco Irwin (though the actual spelling of his last name is in dispute) and he hailed from New York City. He recorded with the Pastels in the 1950s, and had his first success in 1963 with Little Eva, doing a duet of ‘Swing on a Star’.

He went on to record for a variety of labels including Dimension, Fairmount, Phil LA of Soul, Cub, Imperial, Hotlanta and Roxbury from the early 60s on into the disco era of the late 70s.

Along the way he worked with Monk Higgins, writing and producing for artists like Andy Butler, Gloria Jones and Blue Mitchell.

The track I bring you today is his 1968 duet with Mamie Galore (they made three 45s for Imperial in 1968 and 1969) on the Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper’.

The song, which was a favorite of soul singers (I have to have at least half a dozen covers) is done well by Irwin and Galore, backed with a subtly funky and stylish arrangement (dig the nicely applied string section).

Despite the sort of underground ubiquity that marks his career and the quality of his work, Irwin doesn’t seem to have hit the R&B charts at all during his prime.

He really ought to be better known, and it would be cool for an outfit like Sundazed to put together a career retrospective.

I hope you dig the tune, 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.

One Response to “Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore – Day Tripper”

  1. jb says:

    In some other universe, instead of being full of Jaylens and Braydens, preschools are overflowing with boys named “DiFosco.”

    Thanks as always for the tunes, sir.

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