Comments (4)

By Larry, May 12, 2011 3:27 pm

Charles Mann

Listen/Download – Charles Mann – Do It Again

Greetings all, and welcome to the end of the week.

All is well – relatively speaking – with nothing overtly positive to report, but nothing horrifying either, so I’ll just remain tied to the mast and hope the boat stays on course.

This is of course the part of the week where I remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show is about due for its weekly eruption over at Viva Radio, with all of the groovy sounds you have – as a connoisseur of the finer things in soul – become accustomed to. Friday night at 9PM is the time, followed over the weekend by the appearance of the MP3 version thereof over at the blog, where you can pull down the ones and zeros at your leisure.

The number I bring you today is another very groovy cover version (making it a clean sweep this week) of one of my all time favorite groups, that being Steely Dan.

The song in question is their 1972 hit ‘Do It Again’, and the covering artiste is Charles Mann.

I first heard this take on the song via a forum post on the interwebs, and as a huge fan of the Dan, and of interesting cover versions in general, I set out to find a copy of my own.

I’d never heard of Charles Mann before, and I have to admit that despite some searching I still don’t know much.

He recorded his version of ‘Do It Again’ in 1973 for the ABC label with a collection of Philly all-stars, including Bobby Eli (under an alias), Norman Harris, Earl Young, Ronnie Baker and Vince Montana (pretty much the heart of the MFSB crew), with background vocal support from Bunny Sigler (among others).

Tracking down information on Mann proved difficult because there’s a prominent swamp pop singer of the same name (who happens to be white), and because it would appear that aside from this album for ABC and some disco 12”s for the LA label, the soulful Mr Mann didn’t leave much of a trail.

His cover of ‘Do It Again’ ramps up the tempo and fleshes out the arrangement considerably) with the Philly heads adding a healthy dose of danceability to the song. The intro is ripe for sampling/looping and Mann’s vocal is excellent.

The record has that great, Philly-based pre-disco funk vibe, and the guitar work (there are two great solos, one with fuzz and one without) is superb.

Mann recorded three 45s for ABC, and oddly enough ‘Do It Again’ doesn’t appear to have had a domestic release on 45 (though it did come out in Europe). It is possible that since Steely Dan was also on ABC, the label didn’t want to have competing versions on the singles charts.

It’s also unusual because there aren’t a lot of vocal covers of Steely Dan material out there, though I’ve found a number of instrumental versions of their material (by Woody Herman who did a whole album of it, and Herbie Mann). If you’re game to hear something unusual, check out the cover by Waylon Jennings.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, May 8, 2011 7:29 pm

An earlier pic of the Fame Gang, many of whom play on this very 45.

Listen/Download – Muscle Shoals Horns – Breakdown (Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys)

Greetings all.

To borrow a phrase from the mighty Slim Gaillard, the weekend was mellow like a cello, with some unexpected downtime, and some lovely Mother’s day festivities.

As a result I am reasonably well rested, or at least well chilled, so I figured we’d get the week started with something a little hot.

The tune I bring you today is yet another testament to the wonders of Facebook.

I have a plethora groovy friends on the interwebs, many of who are also DJ types or otherwise classifiable as record nerds, and on any given day someone is posting up something cool that I hadn’t heard before, many of which I’ve found myself pursuing so that I would have a copy for my very own.

This is one of those records, and sadly I cannot remembered who posted it, but I do remember where the post led me, which was here (Groovesville USA) where I learned that the record in question was a UK-only 45, which was my jumping off point to finding one for my crates.

Surprisingly enough, that took almost no time and very little money (the perfect combination) and before you know it ‘Breakdown’ by the Muscle Shoals Horns is on the old turntable being digimatized so that I might post it in this space.

The groovy thing about ‘Breakdown’, aside from it’s obvious smoking hot funky disco sound, perfect for the dance floor, is the fact that if you read the label closely enough, or apply your ears just so, you’ll discover that what you are listening to is in fact an instrumental cover of the Equals 1971 ‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys’.

The Equals’ OG was itself an important record during the very early days of the discotheque culture in both the UK and the US.

I can’t say for sure how the Muscle Shoals Horns (in actuality the Fame Gang with the horn section leading the way) got their hooks into it four years on, but it does seem that the Bang/Shout label connection probably had something to do with it.

The Bang label had its initial run from 1965 to 1971, with the Equals ‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys’ being the last record they released. The label was reactivated in the mid-70s, with groups like Brick and the Muscle Shoals Horns.

‘Breakdown’ was issued in the US on the ‘Born to Get Down’ LP in 1976, and for some odd reason only saw 45 release in the UK on the groovy gold label you see above.

It’s cool that the tune had a second coming of sorts (though it was also covered by NY-area band ST-4 in the early 70s), with an update for the discos.

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (6)

By Larry, May 1, 2011 5:35 pm

DJ Andujar and Funky16Corners @ Sweet Exorcist @ The Peoples Pint 4/22

Studebaker Hawk (above), D.J. Andujar (below)

Listen/Download – Studebaker Hawk @ Sweet Exorcist 4/22/11

Studebaker Hawk Set List
Dave Valentin – Sidra’s Dream (GRP)
Phantom Slasher – Furry Whiplash (Noid)
Pia Zadora – The Clapping Song (Elektra)
Marsha Hunt – (Oh, No! Not) The Beast Day (n/a)
Gypsy Lane – Show Me How To Groove (Drive)
The Love Machine – Sex-O-Sonic (London Records)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners @ Sweet Exorcist Set 2 4/22/11

Funky16Corners @ Sweet Exorcist Set 2

Nanette Workman – Lady Marmalade (Pasha)
Lynda Lyndell – What a Man (Volt)
Rufus Thomas – Funky Penguin Pt1 (Stax)
Lou Courtney – Hey Joyce (Popside)
James Brown – Get On the Good Foot (Polydor)
Chuck Carbo – Can I Be Your Squeeze (Canyon)
Gene Chandler – In My Body’s House (Chess)
Marva Whitney – It’s My Thing (King)
Eddie Bo & Inez Cheatham – Lover and a Friend (Capitol)
Willie Tell and the Overtures – Kick Back (Chess)
King Curtis – Pop Corn Willy (Atco)

Listen/Download – DJ Andujar & Studebaker Hawk @ Sweet Exorcist 4/22/11

DJ Andujar @ Sweet Exorcist Set 1

James Brown…I Got Tha Feelin (45)
Dyke & the Blazers…Let a Woman… (45)
Ivo Meirelles & Funk N Lata…Baile Funky (make it funky) (LP)
Lou Toby & his Heavies…Heavy Steppin (45)
Lyn Collins…Think (45)
Toots & Maytalls…Funky Kingston (LP)

Studebaker Hawk Set List

Williams Brothers – I Feel Good (New Birth Records)
Kabbala – Ashewo Aro (Red Flame)
Panama – Long Train Runnin’ (Pathé Marconi EMI)
Dorothy Morrison – All God’s Children Got Soul (Elektra)

Listen/Download – DJ Andujar Set 2 @ Sweet Exorcist 4/22/11

Greyboy with Sharon Jones & Quantic…Got To Be A Love (Paul Nice rmx) (12″)
Gizelle Smith…June (LP)
Clarence Reid…Masterpiece (45)
Charles Wright & Watts 103rd…What Can You Bring Me (45)
Orchestra Baobab…Kelen Ati Leen (45)
Ripple…Funky Song (45)
Bob Marley…Could You Be Loved (12″)
Gwen McCrae…Rockin Chair (45)

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you well.

Things are finally starting to settle down here in the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault after the busiest month of DJ activity I’ve seen in a long, long time.

We already covered my appearance at the Subway Soul Club, and today’s post will tell the tale of my journey to the great state of Massachusetts for a pair of very groovy nights.

I’d like to get started though by telling you how I spent my weekend, which dovetails nicely with everything else and kind of puts a cap on things.

As has been related in this space before, for a couple of vary important reasons (those being our sons) our family is involved with POAC (Parents of Autistic Children, you can follow the link at the bottom of this or any other recent post).
POAC organized a dodgeball tournament, and they asked me to come out and spin some records during the festivities, which is how I spent my Saturday (with Miles acting as my roadie).

I packed up the decks and mixer in my new road case (I think I’m going to stop referring to it as a coffin, which is slightly morbid nomenclature and has to be explained every single time I use it in conversation), packed up a case of funk and disco 45s, filled the record bag with albums and 12”s, and headed over to the local rec center.

Despite years of DJing, this is the first time I took the old Funky16Corners Sound System on the road, and it was a resounding success (even if I forgot to bring a surge protector and an extension cord, but the audio gods look out for the foolish and forgetful, and I was covered).

It was a gas (including a bunch of high school kids singing along with ‘Pass the Hatchet’ which I’m 100% certain they’d never heard before), and despite a couple of close calls, wherein the dodge balls inadvertently came in contact with the sound system (but never the turntables, thankfully), things went swimmingly.

The trip to Massachusetts was similarly excellent.

A few months back my man DJ Andujar got in touch as asked if I might be interested in coming up his way to do his (and Studebaker Hawk’s) night in Greenfield, MA (Sweet Exorcist), followed by a Saturday in Northampton, MA with Snack Attack and DJ Cashman (Wooly Bully).

I checked the calendar and discovered that the dates in question intersected with the Funky16Corners family spring break, so arrangements were made to wrap the two nights into our vacation.

We’d been up to Northampton last year (for vinyl and yarn digging) and found the area to our liking, so the wife and I were both psyched about a return trip.

The Monday before the gigs I phoned in to DJ Andujar’s Radio Clandestino Show on WMUA-FM, and did an interview, which he was kind enough to record, and which I’ll post here for your listening pleasure.

Download/Listen: DJ Andujar Interviews Larry Grogan/Funky16Corners on WMUA-FM, UMASS Amherst, 4/18/11

Sweet Exorcist is held at a very groovy joint called the People’s Pint in Greenfield, MA, and I have to tell you, if you’re in the area, and crave some excellent food and drink, this is the place for you. I’m a ginger beer fanatic, and the People’s Pint makes their own, as well as house made cola, root beer, and a few varieties of regular beer (I tried the oatmeal stout and was very pleased).

The records started spinning around 10PM, and the night was a gas. Both DJ Andujar and Studebaker Hawk brought the heat (as you’ll hear when you pull down the ones and zeros) and I did my level best not to disappoint.

The peeps were dancing, the vinyl was spinning and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to the DJs (and the staff at the People’s Pint) for a great night.

The following night I was on my own (my wife was with the little Corners) and I packed up the record box and headed over to Northampton for Wooly Bully at the Basement.

Yours truly staring intently at the PA system @ the Basement, somehow sensing impending failure…

Run by Snack Attack and DJ Cashman, Wooly Bully runs a little more in the 60s soul direction, and I’d packed a grip of Northern and 60s dance floor soul for the occasion. The Basement is a small room in the back of a building, but by the time the music got started it was packed to the rafters with party people who never stopped dancing until the lights came on and the door guy ushered them out into the night at closing time.

Hazy cellphone pics of the Basment

(Top) Billy Butler on the decks

(Bottom) Imagine these people plus about 100 more revelers, packed like soulful sardines

The place was a madhouse, and much good music was spun and danced to.

Unfortunately – and this was the only sour note of the whole trip – my recordings from the Basement were unusable. The levels were set too high and the recordings were distorted. There were other technical issues (the PA system overheated at one point) but they were all surmountable.  Hopefully, if I make a return visit during the summer, I can remedy the situation and bring back a couple of sets by Snack Attack and DJ Cashman, who both rocked the house.

Today I’ll be trying something new, which is basically posting sets by everyone who spun at Sweet Exorcist. I won’t be posting my first set, since there was a problem with a ground wire and there’s an annoying buzz that cuts into the music at a number of points.

It’s interesting to hear the different sensibilities of three DJs, all funky, but coming at the sound from different angles.
My assessment of a quality night is one where I walk away from the evening with new records added to my want list, and Sweet Exorcist definitely fit the bill.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back later in the week with something cool.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 28, 2011 12:01 pm

King Curtis

Listen/Download – King Curtis – Pop Corn Willy
Listen/Download – King Curtis – Patty Cake (Valdez In the Country)

Greetings all.

I hope the end of the week finds you all robust, rosy cheeked and filled to the gills with soul.

I am – as usual – up to my substantial ass in alligators, with an exceptionally busy vacation followed immediately with an equally jam packed week.

I will save my recap of my DJ gigs in Massachusetts (which were a gas) for next week, but I did want to fill out this week’s posting with a very recent acquisition, that has (and this should come as no surprise) an interesting story attached to it.

The first part of our family vacation was occupied with an ongoing, very important errand, and as a result, when an opportunity opened up to do a little on-the-road 45 digging, I was both surprised and very pleased.

I hit a spot in upstate NY, that has – like many record stores that I haunt on the reg – seemed like a case of diminishing returns, i.e., the more I go back, the less there is to look through.

This time out was a different story, and by the time I had worked my way through the soul and funk section I had built up a nice stack of 45s to peruse, including some new (to me) stuff, one longtime want list item, 45 versions of things I previously had only on LP, as well as a couple of nice items for the trade box.

Among the new things was a King Curtis 45 with two tracks that were both previously unknown to me.

The one that caught my eye was ‘Pop Corn Willy’, which seemed – thanks to the mention of the funky snack food in the title – to be part and parcel of the 1969 dance craze.

Once I got it to the listening station, my suspicions were confirmed. It was extremely funky, and fast moving, and I gave it a spin when I took to the decks in Northampton, MA.

‘Pop Corn Willy’ is one of those cheap 45s that would likely be worth a nice chunk of change if it were rarer.

I gave the other side a brief needle drop, but since it didn’t grab me right away, I didn’t give it much thought.

When we finally returned home, and I got all my ducks in a row – including the acquisition of a brand new DJ coffin (not something you bury a DJ in, but rather a road case for two turntables and a mixer) – I sat down to digimatize the new records so that I might include them in next week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show (which by the way will air, on schedule, this Friday evening at 9PM on Viva Radio), I decided to give the King Curtis flipside a closer listen, and it’s a good thing I did too.

When I put the needle on the record, the song coming out of the speakers was pleasant enough, but after about 20 seconds it started to sound oddly familiar, and by the time the chorus rolled around I realized that although the song was titled ‘Patty Cake’, what I was actually hearing was a version of one of my favorite Donny Hathaway tunes, ‘Valdez In the Country’.

I’d first heard the song in a cover by the Soulful Strings, then by Hathaway himself, and eventually in a smoking version by Cold Blood.

The thing that bugged me though, was why it had been recorded by Mr Ousley under a different title.

As it turns out, this may very well have been the initial waxing of this composition. Hathaway himself (credited here, oddly as ‘Don Hathaway’) wouldn’t record it until 1973 on his ‘Extensions of a Man’ LP, after the Soulful Strings, Cold Blood, Nite Liters and Black Sugar (it would later be covered by George Benson).

As it turns out, the keyboardist on this session (recorded in August of 1969) was none other than Hathaway himself*, which would explain where King Curtis got his hands on the song. I don’t know for sure, but it’s possible that Curtis changed the title (the song would only appear on a non-LP 45) in an effort to keep it simple for the juke boxes and the dance floor. It’s also possible that it had yet to take on the ‘Valdez…’ title (I’ve never been able to discover the origin or significance of the title), though the Soulful Strings version, also recorded in 1969 carried the longer title.

That all said, it’s a great song (one of my favorite instrumentals), and I hope you dig it.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*Interestingly, Hathaway also plays on (as well as produced and arranged) the Cold Blood version, and may very well have had something to do with the Soulful Strings version as well. He was clearly proud of the composition and did a lot to get it out there.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, April 17, 2011 11:56 am

Lots more where that came from…

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Get It (Come and Get It) 118MB/256K Mixed MP3

Laura Lee – I Need It As Bad As You (Invictus)
Gene West – In the Ghetto (Original Sound)
Marva Whitney – This Girl’s In Love With You (King)
Kenny Smith – Go For Yourself (RCA)
Ohio Players – Find Someone To Love (Capitol)
Common Pleas – The Funky Judge (Crimson)
Eddie Bo and Inez Cheatham – Lover and a Friend (Capitol)
Jesse Hill – Mardi Gras (Pulsar)
Gunga Din – Crab Cakes (Valise)
Billy LaMont – Sweet Thing (20th Cent Fox)
Young Holt Unltd – Who’s Making Love (Brunswick)
Winfield Parker – Starvin (Spring)
James Brown – There Was a Time (King)
Senor Soul – Don’t Lay Your Funky Trip On Me (Whiz)
Howlin’ Wolf – Pop It To Me (Chess)
Wayne Logiudice – Ow Boogaloo (Philips)
Jay Dee Bryant – Get It (Come and Get It) (Enjoy)
Gene Dozier and the Brotherhood – Testify (Minit)
Jo Armstead – I’ve Been Turned On (Giant)
Syl Johnson – Dresses Too Short (Twinight)
Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl (Kent)
Bobby Byrd – I Know You Got Soul (King)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling (Fairmount)
Lavell Hardy – Don’t Lose Your Groove (Rojac)

Greetings all.

I have to get things started by letting you know what an absolute, stone gas my stint at the Subway Soul Club was this past Saturday night.

I’ve gone on in this space many times about how spinning soul music is a blast, but doing it for a room full of enthusiastic dancers really takes things to the next level. Despite the fact that we were in the midst of an impromptu monsoon (which made motoring out to Brooklyn a major undertaking) the room at Public Assembly filled up fast and quicker than you can say Wigan Casino the dance floor was slamming.

Both Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Lady Dawn were spectacular hosts, and the other guest DJs, Miss Evon and PJ Lozito (Connie T Empress had to bow out due to the inclement weather) both brought the heat and things were cooking for several hours straight.

I had an amazing time, got to spin the Northern Soul I love so much and got lots of great feedback from the crowd.

I managed to get most of my sets recorded, so sometime next week I’ll post at least one of them, as well as some pics from the night.

Subway Soul Club will return in May, and will then be taking the summer off, so if you’re close enough to make the scene, you should do so.

Now, welcome to Funky16Corners Spring Break!

No bikini girls or beer bongs, just an hour of funk 45s to hold you all until I return to the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Blogcasting Nerve Center.

As mentioned previously, the fam and I will be vacating for a few days, at the end of which I will be spinning funk and soul 45s for two nights in western Massachusetts.

Friday 4/22 I’ll be joining DJ Andujar and Studebaker Hawk for Sweet Exorcist @ the People’s Pint in Greenfield, MA. I’ll be bringing funk, latin and maybe even some reggae to help keep things hot.

The following night, Saturday 4/23, I’ll be joining DJ Cashman and Snack Attack at Wooly Bully @ the Basement in Northampton, MA for funk and soul on 45. I might bring a little Northern Soul with me this time.

If you’re in the area it would be very cool if you could drop by. I hear on very good authority that these are both smoking parties, and I will be packing nothing but heat in the record box, so a good time is guaranteed for all.

That said, what I bring you today is the first set from my latest appearance at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC. This time out I spun all manner of funk and funky soul. I recorded the whole night, but the second set had some crossover with the last sets I posted, and the tonearm got jostled in the third set, so I’ll just file those away in the archive for a later date.
There are a fair number of classics, plus a grip of stuff that I haven’t played out in years, so hopefully you’ll all be able to find something grooveworthy within.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio this Friday night at 9PM. It’s the one year anniversary of the transformation from a glorified playlist into something that sounds like a radio show and it’s packed with good stuff.
The episode may not get posted at the blog until I get home, but there are close to 50 episodes archived there already, so lots to listen to.

Dig it all, and I’ll be back next week with tales of my travels, some new live sets recorded for the blog (hopefully) and maybe even some new records.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, March 31, 2011 10:45 am

Oh, yes…

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop A-Go-Go 71MB/256K Mixed MP3

Brothers Two – Boogaloo Soul Party (Crimson)
Roy Lee Johnson – Boogaloo #3 (Josie)
Barbara Lynn – Club A Go Go (Tribe)
Norman T Washington – Jumping Jack Flash (Pama)
Eyes of Blue – Heart Trouble (Deram)
Lil Bob and the Lollipops – I Got Loaded (La Louisianne)
Wayne Cochran – Goin’ back to Miami (Mercury)
Chet Poison Ivey and His Fabulous Avengers – Shake a Poo Poo (TRC)
Willie Tell and the Overtures – Soul Ranger (Chess)
Interpretations – Snap Out (Bell)
Syl Johnson – Different Strokes (Twilight)
Mad Men – African Twist Pt1 (Gamble)
Sir Lattimore Brown – Shake and Vibrate (SS7)
Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1 (Fat Back)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Shotgun Man (Smash)
Jeanne & the Darlings – Soul Girl (Volt)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and as is almost always the case, so is the end of my patience/energy.

This has been a very busy week, blog-o-rifically and lifewise, and sometimes it seems that the challenges just keep on coming, like lining up outside my door like I’m handing out hundred dollar bills and grilled cheese sandwiches, and then going around the back so they can get in line again to kick me in the ass.

Not everything is bad, since it looks like April is going to be a very busy month DJ-wise, but as always, it’s just a matter of getting all of my psychotic ducks in a row.

When I get all the gig details ironed out, I will make announcements in this space.

That said, it’s time again to remind you all that if you are not otherwise occupied Friday night at 9PM, you should roll on up to the intertubes and grab you some Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. I always endeavor to bring you the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all culled from vinyl, all engineered for your listening pleasure. If you can’t be there at broadcast time, you can always pick up the shows in MP3 form over the weekend here at the blog.

As promised, I’m posting the second live set from last week’s Spindletop @ Botanica. This time you get more of the partying grooves, including one of my faves by an artist who was taken from us unexpectedly last week, the mighty Sir Lattimore Brown.

There’s all kinds of groovy stuff in the mix, all good’n’greasy enough to get the laziest SOB up off their butt and out onto the floor.

Speaking of getting out on the floor, I’ve been hard (and I do mean hard) at work this week cooking up a very tasty mix that will most definitely loosen up your wig and heat up your shorts. I will be dropping it on Monday, so make sure you have lots of ice, potato chips and several varieties of potent spirits, ‘cuz you’re going to need them.

That said, enjoy the sounds, have yourself a groovy weekend and I’ll be back on Monday with more of the stuff you love.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (9)

By Larry, March 27, 2011 1:48 pm

Miss Della Reese

Listen/Download – Della Reese – It Was a Very Good Year

Greetings all.

How’s by you?

All is as well as can be expected on my end of the interwebs.

The weekend was relatively uneventful, and despite anything the calendar says, Spring has yet to arrive in any real way.

I should mention that I have a couple of very groovy DJ gigs in the pipe, details to follow soon.

I’m not going to be able to make it to the Allentown 45 show this year, but I don’t really mind.

The vinyl gods have been good to me these last few months, bringing in all manner of cool stuff, including a couple of longtime white whales, as well as a bunch of low priced, but uniformly excellent groovers.

I’ve also been edging up to the second big push in the reorganization of the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcasting Nerve Center, which always yields cool stuff from deep in the crates that had been unjustly neglected.

I just dug out a groovy Northern 45 last week that I had either forgotten about – or more likely – had not listened to closely the first time I found it. I like when stuff like that happens.

The tune I bring you today is one of the aforementioned white whales, which I chased like Ahab for a long time before finally landing it late last year.

When you mention the name Della Reese to folks, the reaction you get depends on generational variables.

Folks my parent’s age remember her career as a pop/jazz vocalist that produced a couple of big hits in the late 50s.

Younger folks will remember her mainly as a TV actress, on shows like ‘Touched By an Angel’.

Sit down with a couple of hip DJs, and you very well may hear tell of a lesser known, but truly interesting part of her career, when despite a lack of commercial success she managed to make some very soulful, very danceable records.

Back in the early days of the blog (2005) I featured one of these sides, Ms. Reese’s excellent take on Gene McDaniels’ soul jazz epic ‘Compared to What’, recorded for AVCO in 1969.

The tune I bring you today hails from 1966, and like that session was made with jazz trumpeter Bobby Bryant (search the F16C Podcast Archive for some of his groovier tracks) and his band.

The tune ‘It Was a Very Good Year’, was written in 1961 by Ervin Drake. It was originally recorded by the Kingston Trio, but the song will forever be identified with Frank Sinatra, who recorded – and had a hit with the song – in 1966.

The Sinatra version is a doleful lament, sung by an old man looking back on his life.

Della Reese’s version is a radical reworking of the song, both lyrically (she embellishes the verses) and stylistically. Arranged by Bryant, the song is recast as a funky, hard charging cri de coeur, less wistful than the musical equivalent of a fist in the air. Reese sings the song like someone who despite a colorful past, is looking forward to bigger and better things.

Her vocal is powerful, often sounding as if she was testing the limits of the recording equipment.

The band is on fire, with a pumping Hammond and remarkable drums. The recording has a very hot sound, and the snare and kick drum are – next to Della – the loudest things on the record.

This is one of those records that would have languished in obscurity, had it not been revived by DJs on the jazz dance scene in the UK. It has become increasingly popular with funk and soul DJs, and was reissued by the Jazzman label (with a live version on the B-side).

As far as I can tell, this version is not in print on CD and the 45 can be quite expensive, so unless you need one to play out, slip the ones and zeros on your pod-like-thingy and dig.

See you on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some late period British Beat.

Comments (4)

By Larry, March 24, 2011 9:31 am

Listen to him Lucy. He know’s what he’s talking about.

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop New Breed 76MB/256K Mixed MP3

Jimmy Hannah & the Dynamics – Leaving Here (Seafair/Bolo)
Frank Frost – My Back Scratcher (Jewel)
Bobby Powell – Why Am I Treated So Bad (Whit)
Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm – The New Breed Pt1 (Sue)
Richard Berry & the Pharaohs – Louie Louie (Flip)
Roy Thompson – Sookie Sookie (Okeh)
Mighty Hannibal – Jerkin’ the Dog (Shurfine)
Bobby Parker – Watch Your Step (V Tone)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling Pt1 (Fairmount)
Roger & the Gypsies – Pass the Hatchet Pt1 (Seven B)
Scatman Crothers – Golly! Zonk! It’s Scatman (HBR)
Derek Martin – Daddy Rollin’ Stone (Crackerjack)
King Coleman – Boo Boo Song Pt2 (King)
Billy Preston – Let the Music Play (Capitol)
Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In the Basement Pt1 (Chess)
Dottie Cambridge – He’s About a Mover (MGM)
Freddie Scott – Pow City! (Marlin)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and I am in dire need of some form of stress relief, whether it’s extended, uninterrupted sleep, intoxication of some sort or just deep, silent meditation.

It’s not that this week has been extraordinarily rough, ‘cause it hasn’t, but rather some combination of not enough sleep (DJ-ing two hours away on a Monday night will do that), a cold (and/or the onset of seasonal allergies) and the normal slate of irritants, have all combined to do a number on my head.

That said, I’m going to take a tip from the Sims Twins and let a little soul music ‘Soothe Me’.

First, I’ll remind you that this Friday night at 9PM the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to Viva Radio with another hour of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all straight from my crates to your ears. As always you can either tune in on the interwebs, or come by here over the weekend to pick up the show in its easy to use MP3 form. Either way, the sounds are equally excellent.

I had a gas on Monday spinning at Spindletop, and managed once again to capture the goings on with my handheld digital recorder, so that I might share some of it with you good folks.

I went through the musical fruits (no beans…) of the evening and carved out two sets of grooves, one of which I’ll whip on you today, the second which I’ll drop at the end of next week.

This time out I dipped into the crates and whipped out the best in hard-charging, soul party action, from gritty R&B, tough dance floor soul, right on to early funk.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, that one of the prime reasons I love to DJ in a bar or club is the opportunity to hear really amazing records pumping out of a great big set of speakers. You can set the Mighty Hannibal loose in your earbuds, but it’s just not as cool as hearing him unwind his turban with ‘Jerkin’ the Dog’ shaking a room full of people like a minor earthquake.

Every single one of the records in these mixes is perfect for such an environment. I’d go as far as to say that gathered together like this, they might be too powerful for a Friday or Saturday, yet pack just enough musical TNT to set things off on a Monday.

If I was you, I’d pull down the ones and zeros, hit the liquor store, invite over some friends, roll back the carpet and turn up the stereo and do like Mr. Waiters says:

Jump back honey and let the New Breed by!

See you on Monday

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some Laurel Canyon cool from Mama Cass.

Comments (3)

By Larry, March 22, 2011 11:10 am

Melvin Sparks 1946 – 2011

Listen/Download – Melvin Sparks – Thank You Pt1

Listen/Download -Melvin Sparks – Thank You Pt2

Greetings all.

I had an excellent time spinning soul 45s last night at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC. Once again my man Perry Lane was the host with the most, and some cool people (including my brother) came by to join in the fun. I recorded my sets again, and will be posting one of them on Friday, so stay tuned for that.

Late last week I heard via the Facebook grapevine that the mighty Melvin Sparks had passed, just short of his 65th birthday. The news was confirmed later that day.

If you’re a hardcore soul jazz fiend (like me) especially someone who really digs Hammond sounds, then his name looms large.

Born and raised in Texas, Sparks went on to be the go-to guitarist on late 60s/early 70s Prestige (and Blue Note) dates, working with heavies like Leon Spencer, Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland, Reuben Wilson, Rusty Bryant, Lou Donaldson, Caesar Frazier, Jack McDuff, Charles Kynard and Sonny Phillips among many others.

If you recognize a lot of organists in that list, it’s a testament to the fact that Sparks was a treasured sideman for the Hammond set, laying his licks deep inside the groove in a career that lasted more than 40 years.

Sparks also recorded a number of sought after albums as a leader for labels like Prestige, Eastbound/Westbound and Muse.
The 45 I bring you today (both extremely tasty sides) is his reading of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Thank You (Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’ (truncated here to just ‘Thank You’). It was recorded in 1970 with a tight group that included Idris Muhammad on drums, Leon Spencer on the organ (you really get to hear him cut loose on Pt2) and Virgil Jones and John Manning on horns.

Sparks’ style was economical, soulful and right in the groove. Listen to his sustain at the end of the verse phrases, and the way he builds complexity gradually, never flashy, but always solid.

Part one sees Sparks soloing, with Spencer comping in the background, the two masters switching places in part two.

It’s a fantastic example of the Prestige jazz funk sound, and an all-around great 45 with which to groove.

Melvin Sparks was a giant and he will be missed.

See you on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some Laurel Canyon cool from Mama Cass.

Comments (3)

By Larry, March 17, 2011 1:11 pm

The Ohio Players

Listen/Download -Ohio Players – Find Someone To Love

Greetings all.

I hope you’re all ready to shed the week and slip on into the weekend.

Before we wrap things up, I’d like to remind you that I’ll be back in NYC spinning the 45s with soul this coming Monday at Spindletop @ Botanica. It’s a very groovy scene and I assure that I only bring 100% USDA certified soul 45s, guaranteed to move your feet, and under the proper circumstances, strengthen your pimp hand.

You should also tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio, this Friday night at 9PM for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from vinyl sources. As always, if you are otherwise occupied at the time of broadcast, you can always fall by the blog over the weekend and pick up the show in convenient MP3 form.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

Now, about the funk…

The tune I bring you today is a bit of instrumental genius from the early days of the mighty Ohio Players.

With a lineage that goes back to 1959 (when the group came together as the Ohio Untouchables), on into their mid-decade rebirth as the Ohio Players, after which they worked in New York as the house band for Compass Records (releasing two singles for the label in 1967 and 1968).

They were working with producer Johnny Brantley’s Vidalia productions when they hooked up (for one album) with Capitol Records.

The tune I bring you today comes from that partnership.

Interestingly, their recording from this period, for both Compass and Capitol had been recirculated on the exploit/ripoff label Trip/Upfront as the album ‘First Impressions’, which is where I first heard ‘Find Someone To Love’. Their Capitol LP, ‘Observations In Time’ isn’t incredibly rare, or expensive (copies go for between 40 and 100 bucks) but it doesn’t show up that often.

The group’s vocal material from this period has always reminded me of the Parliaments stuff from the mid-60s, with a slightly more raucous edge.

‘Find Someone To Love’ features Sugarfoot Bonner’s wobbly, deeply funky guitar prominently, as well as hard hitting drums, droning organ and the band’s horn section. It’s a much deeper, grittier groove than the flashy, fonky stuff they’d hit the charts with a few years later.

Not exactly the Love Rollercoaster, more like the funhouse on the way there.

I dig it a lot, and I hope you do too.

See you on Monday (either here or in NYC).

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some insane surf instros.

Comments (8)

By Larry, March 8, 2011 12:32 pm

Dixie Cups (above) and Billy Vera (below)

Listen/Download – Dixie Cups – Two-Way-Poc-A-Way

Listen/Download – Billy Vera – Big Chief (Tu-Way Poca-Way)

NOTE: After you’re done reading, make sure to check out the comments for additional information on the roots of these songs.

Greetings all.

Here’s yet another unscheduled post, brought on by some deep thinking, spawned by a lack of same on my part, but ultimately remedied (at least I think so, but you’ll have to decide for yourself).

When I posted Billy Vera’s ‘Big Chief (Tu Way Poca Way)’ yesterday, preceded by a few weeks by the Dixie Cups record of the almost identical title, ‘Two-Way-Poc-A-Way’, it didn’t occur to me to think anything other than that both songs were drawing water from the same well, i.e. Mardi Gras Indian tradition.

The Indian Tribes are a New Orleans-based African American tradition that goes back to the mid-19th century, likely born out of the shared minority experience of blacks and native Americans.

The celebrations by these tribes are centered around several holidays climaxing with Mardi Gras, the final day of celebration prior to the Christian feast of Lent (which itself ends with Easter).

The tribes dress in fantastically ornate feathered costumes and parade through the city, doing symbolic battle for primacy.
If you are a big fan of New Orleans music, you have certainly heard, through countless versions of ‘Iko Iko’ (itself based on Sugarboy Crawford’s ‘Jock-A-Mo’, a situation that led to legal action which saw Crawford leave without gaining authorship of the later record, yet being given monetary rights to the Dixie Cups recording), as well as tunes like Professor Longhair’s ‘Big Chief’ words and phrases with a direct connection to the Wild Indian tribes, like ‘big chief’ ‘spy boy’ and ‘flag boy’, as well as a wide variety of seemingly meaningless, rhythmic phrases (check out Professor Longhair’s ‘Tipitina’ for a master class in same*).

When the Dixie Cups recorded ‘Two-Way-Poc-A-Way’ for ABC in 1965 (following their success with ‘Iko Iko’ on Leiber and Stoller’s Red Bird label) they were working with the same basic material, albeit in a much rawer way.

Billy Vera recorded ‘Big Chief (Tu-Way-Poca-Way)’ in 1974, creating his own bit of Mardi Gras funk, borrowing the main phrase from the Dixie Cups record or, and this is entirely likely considering the obscurity of the Dixie Cups recording, from a separate ‘third party’, i.e. Mardi Gras Indian tradition, or earlier R&B source itself.

When I posted the Vera 45 yesterday, a commenter stated that although he liked the record, it was merely an imitation of the Dixie Cups recording. I also had a brief exchange of e-mails on the subject with the mighty Dan Phillips of  Home of the Groove.

I rolled this around in my head for a little while, and since I was out running errands when the comment came in, bounced back and forth between the two songs on the iPod, which in the car is a huge (and potentially dangerous) pain in the ass.

When I got home, I decided that the only way to get to the bottom (or at least close to the bottom of the situation) was to do my best to transcribe both songs and compare.

I’m not qualified to do this on a melodic level, but I do have enough of an ear to see that the Dixie Cups record is almost melody-free, more of a chant than a song. It has a sui generis feel that is both mysterious and extraordinary, where Vera’s record is straight ahead funk.

Lyrically, my assumption was that any similarities I was hearing were likely the result of, as I said before, both artists pulling phrases from the same tradition, which predated both recordings.

When I finally got both sets of lyrics typed out – and I hope you’ll forgive me if some of the words are incorrect – it would appear that aside from the title (which I can’t trace beyond the Dixie Cups record, which may in itself be a problem with countless spelling and punctuation variables) and a pair of common two-line phrases (placed in italics below), the songs are not the same.

There are certainly several common motifs, i.e. the Big Chief, spyboy (or spy), the second line and the battle fire (all of which appear in Professor Longhair’s ‘Big Chief’, which was itself written by Earl King) , but what you end up with is two songs about the same basic set of events (the meeting of the Indian tribes), which include many similar details.

Whether Vera lifted the repeated phrases (rhyming ‘on the bayou’ and ‘world on fire’ and then ‘tambourines ringing’ and ‘second line singing’) directly from the Dixie Cups record, or if they also arise from a third source that I am unaware of (which is also possible) I do not know.

If any of you do, please let me know and I will make note of it in this piece.

That said, there’s also the question of whether or not Vera, a California native, was engaging in a form of stylistic carpetbagging by drawing so heavily from these sources. If he’d recorded his record in 1966, I might say so, but ‘Big Chief (Tu Way Poca Way)’ was recorded in 1974.

Vera was an R&B/soul vet by this point, already familiar with the sounds of the Crescent City. As I mentioned in the previous piece, he is not only a musician with an almost 50 year long career, but also a historian.

As has been displayed in the space for the last six years (and in the web zine before that) the music and culture of New Orleans is brilliant, very deep, and very, very contagious.

My only visit there was as a teenager almost 35 years ago, but every time I put on a record by Professor Longhair, Eddie Bo, Dr John, the Meters, Huey Piano Smith and the Clowns, Irma Thomas, Eldridge Holmes, Roger and the Gypsies or any of the other NOLA artists that I hold so dear, I feel New Orleans in the room, and I can’t really think of any other American music that transports the listener to a region with as much ease.

I’d like to think that Billy Vera was trying to recreate that feeling when he wrote and recorded ‘Big Chief (Tu Way Poca Way)’.

Either way, he created a great 45.

The Lyrics: Note – I omitted repeated uses of the title since I’m not much of a typist, and I fear I may be approaching my lifetime quota on hyphens.

______________________________________________

Dixie Cups – Two-Way-Poc-A-Way
Early in the morning
Indians coming
Go and get the Big Chief
Big Chief ready
Down on the bayou
World on fire
Lord ain’t he pretty
Talkin’ bout big chief
Talkin’ bout big chief

Spy met a gang now
Spy went the signal
Big chief holla
Spy boy walla
Straight on to me

Go up fast now
Tell everybody
Goin on down
Down town

Spy boy leaving
Big chief holla
Second line follow
Tambourines ringing
Second line singing

Sun goin down
Sun going down
Jump all around now
All fall down
Goin’ on in now
Goin’ on in now

______________________________________________

Billy Vera – Big Chief (Tu-Way-Poca-Way)
Onda wondo wonda day
Onda wondo wonda day
Onda wondo wonda day
Onda wondo wonda day

Big Chief march out to the bayou
Dance around the battle fire
Say at night it can’t be done
Won’t come back ‘til battle is done

Goin on in now
Big chief leaders
Across the river

Where my spyboy Big Chief holla
Goes behind the second line follow
Enemy see your see turn tail
Tribes is fighting tooth and nail

Keep on fighting
Big chief leaders
On the bayou
World on fire

Battle is won we go downtown
Big parade when the sun go down
I want to paint my face turn green
Try to find my voodoo queen

Bayou bayou
World on fire
Big Chief holla
Second line follow
Tambourine ringing
Second line singing
See my queen now
Yours is green

Peace

Larry

*Much of this language has roots in Creole and what is referred to as Mobilian jargon

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some interesting late 60s pop.

Comments (2)

By Larry, March 7, 2011 3:29 pm

The mighty Billy Vera

Listen/Download – Billy Vera – Big Chief (Tu Way Poca Way)

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today – in a very special early mid-week post – is something very cool that I picked up last year.

I’m not sure I recall exactly how I came upon this one, but I suspect I was digging through the wilds of the intertubes for vinyl by one of my all-time favorite  soul men, the mighty Billy Vera.

Though folks of a certain vintage may only be familiar with Vera’s huge 1987 #1 Pop hit ‘At This Moment’, he had a long history before that. I’m a big fan of his 1960s duet work with Judy Clay (Storybook Children, Country Girl City Man etc) as well as one of my all-time favorite 45s (billed as a Billy & Judy duet but actually just Vera and his band) ‘Really Together’.

He worked through the 60s and 70s as a songwriter and performer, recording for Cameo and Atlantic, as well as a number of smaller labels.

He’s also an actor, and most importantly (at least to me) a serious record collector who has annotated several reissue projects.

Up until I scored this killer, I had no familiarity at all with his 70s stuff, and no idea that he had ever worked in Memphis with the legendary Steve Cropper.

The real reason for whipping ‘Big Chief (Tu- Way Poca-Way)’ on you is that this Tuesday is Mardi Gras.

A while back, when I dropped the Dixie Cups’ ‘Two Way Poca Way’ (no relation, or is there?? See my 3/8 post above), I mentioned that I had another interesting side in the to-be-blogged file that was both funky, and filled with Mardi Gras Indian lingo.

This is that very record, and a funky one it is.

What you’re getting is Mr. Vera leading a very tasty band (dig the guitar and keyboards) with the Mardi Gras chants. The atmosphere within the grooves is clearly aimed at a partying crowd and the dancers in the room.

The cool thing is that Billy namechecks the Wild Magnolias indian tribe the same year (1974) that the band of the same name hit (featuring members of the tribe along with a NOLA all star band with the Turbinton brothers of the Gaturs and Snooks Eaglin) with ‘Smoke My Peace Pipe’*.

How Billy Vera ended up in Memphis with Steve Cropper at the board, I do not know, nor am I familiar with the Orange label. This appears to be the only record he recorded for the label.

If any of you good folks know anything more, please drop me a line in the comments.

That said, this is a great, great record, and certainly fitting for any Mardi Gras celebration you might have planned.

I hope you dig it and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

*There is also a local 1970 recording/issue of ‘Smoke My Peace Pipe’ (the flipside of ‘Handa Wanda’) on the Crescent City label

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some interesting late 60s pop.