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By Larry, February 18, 2016 12:26 pm

Listen/Download – Marie Franklin – You Ain’t Changed MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is near, and so then is the latest episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast.You can (and should, really..) subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, listen on Mixcloud, or grab yourselves an MP3 right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a hard-hitting, funky number by a singer that I don’t know much about.

Marie Franklin only recorded a few 45s during her short career, two for Tangerine, one duet with Vernon Garrett for Venture (more on that in a sec..) the disc you see before you today and a couple of rarer items on small labels.
The duet with Garrett is important, because it ties into the provenance of today’s selection (both records having been released in 1968).

Venture was a relatively short-lived imprint formed when the husband and wife team of Kim Weston and Mickey Stevenson left Motown in Detroit and made their way to California.

If you look closely at the label of ‘You Ain’t Changed’ you’ll notice the presence of Clarence Paul (another ex-Motown mover) and the publishing credit of Mikim music, Weston’s publishing company.

The tune itself, (written by Willie Cooper and Ernie Shelby who also wrote I Don’t Want to Discuss it for Little Richard and Nobody for Williams and Watson) ‘You Ain’t Changed’ manages to encapsulate a Motown-like production, while cozying up to the early vibrations of funk. Franklin had a hell of a voice, sounding to me a lot like Tina Turner (interesting since one of her TRC 45s was a cover of Ike and Tina’s ‘Anything You Wasn’t Born With’).

It kind of blows my mind that a singer this talented and powerful (you have to check out her duet with Garrett) didn’t see more success.

This 45 (which was also released in the UK on MGM) isn’t an easy pull, but if you dig it you ought to be able to put one in your box for 25 or 30 bucks.

I hope you dig it, 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, February 16, 2016 12:51 pm

The Stylistics

Listen/Download – The Stylistics – Let the Junkie Bust the Pusher MP3

Greetings all.

I don’t know about you, but I could use a pick me up.

What better way to get picked up, than a little energetic, funky soul.

This particular 45 is very groovy, and especially interesting because it is a stylistic (no pun intended) departure for the (here it comes…) Stylistics.

Known best for their big hits like ‘You Are Everything’ and ‘People Make the World Go Round’, the Stylistics shot out of the gate in 1970 with this number affixed to the B-side of their first 45 (and first chart entry) ‘You’re a Big Girl Now’.

Written by Marty Bryant and Robert Douglas, ‘Let the Junkie Bust the Pusher’ is a fast-moving, decidedly un-Stylistic, topical soul side that sounds like it could have been lifted from a Blaxploitation soundtrack of the time.

Originally released on the local Philadelphia label Sebring, it got the group picked up for national distribution by Avco, where they would hook up with Thom Bell and Linda Creed, who would write so many of their biggest hits.

The drums are especially heavy here, and you get lots of group harmony, as well as Temptations-like solo shots by members of the group.

This particular song remains a 45-only cut, not making it onto the Stylistics debut LP.

It’s very cool, as well as cheap as chips, so go out and get you some.

I hope you dig it, 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.

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By Larry, February 14, 2016 12:57 pm

Listen/Download – One G Plus Three – Poquito Soul MP3

Greetings all.

While browsing through the great, digital repository of records that I have converted from grooves into ones and zeros in furtherance of this here blog, I stumbled over this 45, which I picked up a long time ago and for some unknown reason – now lost to time – forgot to offer up to you.

The disc in question is a tasty slice of East LA Hammond action, courtesy of the group calling themselves One G Plus Three, or as is explained on the label, ‘Mas Chicano + One Gringo’).

Though both sides of this disc are very cool (the flip being a groovy reworking of Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’) I will stick with the A-side, ‘Poquito Soul’.

I do so, since ‘Poquito Soul’ was a minor hit in Southern California (and a few other markets) in 1970, but also because it’s popularity can probably be ascribed to its sailing in the wake of a much bigger hit by another band of Chicanos.

If you give ‘Poquito Soul’ a couple of listens, another languid groover might start to come to mind, that being El Chicano’s version of Gerald Wilson’s ‘Viva Tirado’, which was a substantial hit in the Spring of 1970, all over the country, but especially in SoCal.

Their hit spawned a bunch of covers, and it would seem a few imitators, of which I would venture to say, ‘Poquito Soul’ (which hit the charts in the late Summer of 1970) is one.

The group, Randy Thomas (the ‘Gringo’) on organ, Rudy Salas on guitar, Max Garduno on percussion and Manny Mosqueda on drums, recorded only this one 45, released first on Eddie Davis’s Gordo label, then picked up for national distribution by Paramount.

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

I’ll be back 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, February 11, 2016 1:16 pm

Mamie Galore and Dee Irwin

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.

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By Larry, February 9, 2016 12:22 pm

Listen/Download – The Magistrates feat. Jean Hillary – After the Fox MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the middle of the week finds you well.

The tune I bring you today is one of those groovy 45s that sought to surf the wave of a musical trend, in this case the tsunami of ‘Horse’ records in 1968 (see here*) spawned by Cliff Nobles and Company.

The interesting thing is that the group in question, a studio assemblage called the ‘Magistrates’ had already had a hit, earlier in 1968 doing (much more successfully) the same thing, except with the ‘Here Comes the Judge’ fad (which you can read all about in the old Funky16Corners web zine).

The Magistrates were two members of the Dovells, Jerry Gross (who also worked with a bunch of Philly acts as a songwriter, producer and arranger), Mike Freda, and a vocalist named Jeannie Yost, working under the name ‘Jean Hillary’.

‘Here Comes the Judge’ was a minor national hit in May of 1968, and a big single in Philadelphia.

They followed it with ‘After the Fox’ ( a very thinly disguised attempt at a ‘Horse’ number) in August of that year, but only really got any play locally.

The resulting number is a funky dancer, with a guitar line and bridge that get as close to Cliff Nobles as possible without being an outright rip, as well as a wailing vocal by Yost/Hillary.

There’s enough meat on the record that it manages to transcend the ‘novelty’ label.

It’s a groovy one, and I hope you dig it.

See you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

*Oddly enough, when that piece was written 15 years ago, I hadn’t yet picked up the Magistrates 45, so it isn’t mentioned!

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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, February 7, 2016 11:07 am

Roger and the Gypsies – Pass the Hatchet Pt1 (Seven B)
Professor Longhair – Big Chief Pt2 (Watch)
Bobby Marchan – Shake Your Tambourine (Cameo/Parkway)
Diamond Joe – Gossip Gossip (Sansu)
Eddie Bo – Hook and Sling Pt1 (Scram)
Lee Dorsey – Four Corners Pt1 (Amy)
Dixie Cups – Two Way Poc A Way (ABC)
Earl King – Street Parade (Kansu)
Meters – Cardova (Josie)
David Batiste and the Gladiators – Funky Soul Pt2 (Instant)
Bobby Williams – Boogaloo Mardi Gras Pt2 (Capitol)
Curly Moore – Sophisticated Cissy (Instant)
Ernie K Doe – Here Come the Girls (Janus)
Larry Darnell – Son of a Son of a Slave (Instant)
Explosions – Hip Drop Pt1 (Gold Cup)
Rubaiyats – Omar Khayyam (Sansu)
Warren Lee – Funky Belly (Wand)
Willie Tee – Sweet Thing (Gatur)
Danny White – Natural Soul Brother (SSS Intl)
Lee Dorsey – Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further (Polydor)
Oliver Morgan – Roll Call (Seven B)
Eddie Bo – Can You Handle It (Bo Sound)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Presents Boogaloo Mardi Gras! – 85MB Mixed Mp3/192K

Greetings all.

Hey everybody!

It’s Mardi Gras time again, and I am keeping up with the annual tradition by posting another one of my favorite Funky16Corners mixes, ‘Boogaloo Mardi Gras’ (first posted in 2012) in which I have compiled some of the finest New Orleans soul and funk in my crates.

It has everything you need (except for liquor and potato chips) to laissez les bon temps roulez, so get you an um-ba-rella in your hand (thanks Alvin!) , roll out into the street and get your second line on.

This year I’m also re-posting all three volumes of The History of Allen Toussaint from the Funky16Corners Radio Show, because we can’t let the first Mardi Gras since his passing happen without a proper commemoration!

Show #293. Originally broadcast 12/11/15

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)

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Show #294. Originally broadcast 12/18/15

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)

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Show #295. Originally broadcast 12/25/15

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)

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I hope you dig it, 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, February 4, 2016 11:49 am

The Common Pleas

Listen/Download – The Common Pleas – The Funky Judge MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so I will tell you once again that you should be digging into the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, bringing you the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl, this and every Friday. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab and MP3 right here at the blog.

We close out the week with the funk side of one of my all-time favorite Philadelphia 45s, ‘Funky Judge’ by the Common Pleas.

Backed with the remarkable sweet soul of ‘I Wanted More’, this 45 has had a secure home in my crates for decades.
It was only recently (the record having been a complete mystery to me before that) that I learned that the Common Pleas were a bunch of white guys!

Getting their start with a Phily doo wop group called the Illusions, the Common Pleas (led by guitarist Fred Jones) recorded one 45 for Crimson (also home to the Soul Survivors and the Brothers Two) and were apparently a pretty big draw as a live band in Philadelphia and South Jersey.

‘Funky Judge’, released in 1968 is part of the who ‘Here Comes the Judge Craze’, which spawned a grip of funk and soul records, with no less than three (Common Pleas, Cliff Nobles and Co and the Magistrates) coming out of Philadelphia.

‘Funky Judge’ is what I like to call a “shout-out” record, with the band namechecking and in some instances imitating the stars of the day, including Arthur Conley, Sly and the Family Stone, Sam and Dave, James Brown, Wilson Pickett and others.

There’s lots of soul clapping as well as heavy drums, bass and guitar.

It is a killer, a big fave of mine, so I hope you dig it too.

See you 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 (1)

By Larry, February 2, 2016 1:00 pm

Ike and Tina Turner

Listen/Download – Ike and Tina Turner – Good Bye, So Long MP3

Greetings all.

To borrow (and slighty alter) an old phrase, any time is a good time for some Ike and Tina Turner.

As I’ve mentioned here in the past, I kind of backed into the Turner’s early catalog, having only been familiar with what I knew from my childhood, i.e. the ‘Proud Mary’ years.

It was only a few years back – via a clip of them playing on the Big TNT Show – that I really got the bug for their earlier stuff.

This unsealed another can of worms, because their discography – especially the early years – is a masterpiece of label-hopping, with the Ike and Tina moving from Sue, to Modern, to Loma, to WB, to Sonja, to Kent, to Philles, to Tangerine/TRC and on, and on.

Asa result, the records are all over the place, and for an act as important as Ike and Tina, very poorly represented in reissue form.

Today’s selection – ‘Good Bye, So Long’ – is a 1965 killer for the Modern label that made it into the R&B Top 40 in 1965 (just grazing the Pop Hot 100). It is a veritable juggernaut, powered by a positively relentless rhythm guitar, with Tina and the Ikettes dancing nimbly over the whole thing, with Ike jumping in for the ‘OO WAH’s in the chorus.

I mean, this is a POWERFUL record, guaranteed to get people up out of their seats and onto the dance floor, shaking what they brought with them.

I wrote up the live performance (mentioned above) a while back, and it really needs to be seen to be believed, with the thundering guitars, Tina out front with the crazy hat, and the Ikettes bouncing around the stage like they have dynamite in their panties.

Basically a long soul medley, the band is tearing it up, and it is a sure antidote for anyone with ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ stuck in their craw.

Heavy stuff, indeed, because I always endeavor to bring you the best.

Dig it,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 (2)

By Larry, January 31, 2016 11:45 am

The Monitors

Listen/Download – The Monitors – Number One In Your Heart MP3

Greetings all.

This one’ll get your heart started!

A couple of years ago I was listening to my man Mr Finewine on the mighty Downtown Soulville radio show and he played today’s selection, once again adding to the length of my want list.

Previous to the occasion, I only knew of the Monitors in passing, having seen them listed in discographies of Motown’s VIP subsidiary, alongside artists like Chris Clark and the Velvelettes.

The Monitors recorded a handful of 45s and an LP for VIP between 1965 and 1968, eventually moving on to Buddah for one more release.

Featuring John Fagin, Sandra Fagin, Warren Harris and Richard Street (who would eventually go on to join the Temptations), the Monitors had a couple of minor R&B hits, making it into the Top 40 with ‘Say You’ in 1966, and the A-side of this particular 45, ‘Greetings (This is Uncle Sam)’ grazing the Top 20 later the same year.

When I discovered that ‘Greetings..’ had charted I was shocked. It was certainly topical, and a novelty, but nowhere near as powerful as today’s selection.

‘Number One In Your Heart’, written by Steve Mancha (under his real name, Clyde Wilson) and Wilbur Jackson, and produced by Harvey Fuqua, is a fast moving, hook-laden dance floor killer.

The arrangement is fantastic, and it kind of blows my mind that it wasn’t a hit.

A version of the Monitors was reassembled by UK soul guru Ian Levine and recorded an LP in the late 80s.

I hope you dig the tune,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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, January 28, 2016 1:07 pm

Willie Mitchell

Listen/Download – Willie Mitchell – Pearl Time MP3

Greetings all.

The end of he week is upon us, and so I will remind you once again to check out the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, which drops every Friday, bringing you the finest 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 the TuneIn app, groove to it on Mixcloud, or grab and MP3 right here at the blog.

We close out the week with one master of soul – Willie Mitchell – covering another – Andre Williams.

I picked up my copy of Mitchell’s 1968 ‘Soul Serenade’ LP years ago, but only recently realized that it included a cover of Andre Williams 1967 single ‘Pearl Time’.

My best guess is that I couldn’t imagine anyone outside of Detroit or Chicago covering an obscure Williams tune, but as it turns out, it wasn’t quite as obscure as I thought.

After doing a little research (or more than I had done before) I found out that though Williams original version of ‘Pearl Time’ didn’t hit the R&B charts, it was a minor pop hit, generating some heat in the Midwest and the Northeast.

Willie Mitchell recorded his version in 1968, alongside covers of tunes by James Brown, Otis Redding and Bobby Hebb among others.

Mitchell’s take includes a robust horn section and a slightly cheesy (in a good way, natch…) organ over some tight drums, with Mitchell just about speaking the lyrics.

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

Have yourselves a great weekend,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 (3)

By Larry, January 26, 2016 12:02 pm

Curtis Mayfield

Listen/Download – Curtis Mayfield – We’re a Winner (Live) MP3

Greetings all.

What say we sail through the middle of the week on the breezes of the mighty Curtis Mayfield.

Curtis is one of the true giants of soul music, as performer, songwriter, producer, and talent scout, first with the Impressions in the 60s, and then on to a stellar solo career in the 70s (and beyond).

Way back when, I worked with an older dude named Gene, who always dug that I – a longhaired white kid – was into soul and jazz. He would regularly bring in records from his stacks for me to check out. One of the ones that made a big impression (no pun intended…) was 1971’s ‘Curtis Live’.

Recorded with a small band at the New York City night club the Bitter End, the set included a number of Impressions classics and a couple of his more current tunes, all delivered in a mellow, almost conversational tone.

This reworking of the Impressions 1967 epic ‘We’re a Winner’ was issued as the b-side to ‘Get Down’ (from the ‘Roots’ LP). It has a relaxed, funky swing to it, and Curtis takes the time in the middle of the song to monologue about the censorship troubles the record had the first time around (namechecking Jet magazine!), and laying out the positive civil rights message of the song in no uncertain terms.

It’s always a pleasure to hear Curtis deliver any of his songs in that smoothest of voices, and if you get a chance to grab a copy of ‘Curtis Live!’, do so, since it is a pleasure from start to finish.

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 (1)

By Larry, January 24, 2016 11:51 am

The Volcanos

Listen/Download – Volcanos – (It’s Against) The Laws of Love MP3

Greetings all.

I thought we’d get things of to a fine start this week with one of my favorite Philly 45s.

Back in the day, when I had just started digging for soul in earnest, I was all over anything I could find from Philadelphia and New Orleans.

One of the early obsessions to come out of my Philly excavations was the mighty Volcanos.

I can say with some certainty that the gateway drug – as it were – was ‘Storm Warning’, the group’s biggest hit and a Northern Soul classic.

Over the course of a few years, the Volcanos, led by Gene Faith (nee Jones) would lay down some of the finest soul 45s to come out of the City of Brotherly Love, first for Arctic, then the storied Harthon imprint, and then finally for Virtue, before Faith went solo, and the rest of the group morphed into the Moods, and then the Trammps.

‘(It’s Against) The Laws of Love’ was the group’s fourth 45 for Arctic, released in 1965. Written by Carl Fisher of the Vibrations, ‘Laws of Love’ followed their regional success with ‘Storm Warning’, but despite its obvious quality, failed to make a dent outside of Philadelphia.

Seemingly crafted from a Northern Soul template (years ahead of the curve) ‘Laws of Love’ features a brisk, four on the floor beat, piano and ringing vibes (Vince Montana!) and pumping baritone sax under a great lead by Faith and solid harmonies by the group.

The song is packed with hooks and the arrangement is a wonder.

This is also one of those records I’m happy to have grabbed way back in the stone age, since it seems to be the rarest of their Arctic 45s, pulling in a couple of hundred bucks (much like their two Harthon discs).

It is the perfect intersection of great to listen to and great to dance to.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back 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.