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By Larry, January 19, 2012 6:25 am

Benny Gordon
(pic borrowed from Red Kelly at the B-Side)

Listen/Download -Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers – I Can’t Turn You Loose

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today is the result of a longtime obsession.

I have been picking up 45s by Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers for well over a decade, when, and wherever I find them.

For years they remained an almost complete mystery, aside from one 45 that suggested to me (correctly as it turns out) that they hailed from South Carolina.

Then, a few years back, my man Red Kelly, captain of the mighty B-Side blog (and many others) put up a couple of different posts that blew the whole thing wide open, revealing that Benny Gordon and Sammy Gordon (of the Hip Huggers) were first cousins and bandmates, but also that although they started out in the Carolinas, they did most of their heavy lifting in New York City.

The Benny Gordon discography stretches from about 1962 to 1973, with the Soul Brothers label being employed from 1964 to 1967.

The first Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers 45 I ever found was their cover of JD Bryant’s ‘Get It (Come and Get It)’ and since then have come to consider them among the finest of what I have often referred to as ‘journeyman’ soul groups, i.e. artists that seemed to have worked long and hard, for a variety of labels, without ever really breaking through to a higher level of success.

The group was the house band at Trude Heller’s discotheque in New York City and even played at Truman Capote’s famous Black and White Ball in 1966.

Their extremely energetic cover of Otis Redding’s ‘I Can’t Turn You Loose’ sounds every bit the work of a seasoned soul band.

Moving at double (and a half?) speed Benny and the band really work it out.

I would relish the opportunity to whip this one on a crowd of well-oiled dancers.

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

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 recreational 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.

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By Larry, January 15, 2012 5:19 pm

Charly and the Bourbon Family

Listen/Download -Charly and the Bourbon Family – Boogachi

Greetings all.

Welcome to yet another week of funky and soulful goodness under the auspices of the Sixteen Funky Corners.

As has been demonstrated here many a time, sometimes you can find very funky things that have been produced by artists for whom funk was not a first (or functional) language.

Today’s selection is yet another of those examples.

I first heard ‘Boogachi’ by Charly and the Bourbon Family sometime last year and was shocked that I hadn’t heard it before.

Not that it is so wildly spectacular a 45 that it should have appeared on my radar screen (though it is quite groovy), but rather because it that rarest of funky nuggets, a Meters cover.

But how can this be Professor Grogan? I do not recall a Meters tune by the title of ‘Boogachi’.

That’s because there’s not one, says I.

However, once you pull down the ones and zeros and give the tune a spin you will realize in short order that what you are hearing is in fact a version of the Meters ‘Look Ka Py Py’.

A stolen version (i.e. with no credit whatsoever given to the writers, Messrs Nocentelli, Neville, Modeliste and Porter), to which lyrics have been appended.

Now, I’m not going to slip you the old rubber peach and try to tell you that they beat the Meters at their game, because they don’t.

‘Boogachi’ (the title derived from the chant at the beginning of the OG) lacks much of the subtle funkiness of ‘Look Ka Py Py’, but I will tell you that it makes up for it with a surprising amount of whatever the German word is for balls.

Charly and co bring a certain aggressive Euro vibe to the proceeding (the singer’s thick, occasionally impenetrable accent being a big part of that) and there’s also the novelty of hearing ‘Look Ka Py Py’ delivered with lyrics (even if it is hard to understand them all).

Charly and the Bourbon Family were a German show band that recorded some 45s and one album under a couple of different names (the Untouchables, Charly and the Diamonds) and in a few disparate styles.

One need only look at the song list from their album (which includes the tunes ‘Bobby the Flobby’ and ‘Who Stole the Keeshka’) to realize that they could charitably be described as ‘all over the place’.

There’s a video of the group on Youtube doing a cover of Buck Owens ‘Tiger By the Tail’ that has all the charm of one of the musical numbers from the old Benny Hill Show.

That said, ‘Boogachi’ is very cool indeed and would fit well in a set of funky 45s.

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

However…before I take my leave I should let you know that there is a very groovy show happening in NYC on Thursday night February 2nd at Southpaw in Brooklyn, with the mighty Impressions being back by Binky Griptite and the Dee-Kays (featuring members of the Dap Kings, natch). You also get to enjoy the DJ prowess of DJ Pari, Mr Robinson, Eli Paperboy Reed and DJ Honky, so you are assured a night of fine, soulful goodness.

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 recreational 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.

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By Larry, January 12, 2012 12:59 pm

Odetta

Listen/Download – Odetta – Hit or Miss

Greetings all.

I hope everyone is well, and that you’re all ready to end the week with something groovy.

If I might make a related detour, I will remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show hits the airwaves of the interwebs this (and every) Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. This week is another very greasy Hammond 45 special, with all manner of burners stacked up and set alight by yours truly. If you can’t be there when it airs, you can pick up the show on Saturday as an MP3, right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is another bit of that rare but delicious subgenre known as folk-funk (funky folk, folky funk, what have you).

If you are my age or older, the name Odetta should be a familiar one.

Odetta (known almost exclusively by her first name for the duration of her career) was one of the queens of the American folk revival.

Though her earliest work was on the musical theater stage (she was involved briefly with the very interesting Turnabout Theatre in Los Angeles), she was working as a folk singer by the mid-50s and by the end of that decade was known as much for her powerful voice as she was for her work in support of the civil rights movement.

She is best remembered as part of the folk movement, but Odetta’s work was also influenced by jazz and the blues.

By the time the end of the 60s rolled around, there were very few standard bearers of the folk movement who hadn’t already branched out into the world of rock and pop to some degree, and Odetta was no exception.

The 1970 LP. ‘Odetta Sings’ was recorded in both Muscle Shoals (with support from the house band as well as cats like Eddie Hinton) and in Los Angeles with a group of studio heavies as well as Carole King on piano.

The album was composed almost exclusively of cover material, by folks like James Taylor, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Randy Newman. There were only two originals on the album, and today’s selection was one of them.

‘Hit or Miss’ is heavily sweated by crate diggers because of the extra-sweet break that opens the tune (that would be Russ Kunkel on the drums) but I invite you to stick around for the rest of the song, which is excellent.

Odetta was possessed of a powerful, unique voice, perfectly suited for delivering heavy, “message” material, so it’s interesting to hear her put that same instrument to work in a more relaxed, soulful setting. There’s more than a touch of 1970-specific, laid back, quasi-hippie groove at work, which is not a bad thing at all.

The 45 of this cut can be kind of pricey, so do yourself a favor and grab the whole album, which ought to be much cheaper, and of course has eight more songs for your money.

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

Peace

Larry

PS Thank you Leah…

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 recreational 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.

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By Larry, January 10, 2012 1:50 pm

Listen/Download – Sam Wright Group – Green Onions

Greetings all.

I’m going to have to make this quick today since I am currently bedeviled (like the egg, see?) with an infection of some kind that is making feel like old, wet garbage.

The tune I bring you today will certainly be a familiar one, if the version in question is not.

You know that I am an inveterate Hammond 45 junky, and will always pick up any and all interesting looking organ instro 45s, which is why I grabbed the one you see before you.

I’d certainly never heard of the Sam Wright Group, but since ‘Green Onions’ is one of my all time fave instrumentals, I figured it was worth picking up.

Which it was.

What is especially interesting is the fact that as it turns out, there probably was no Sam Wright.

The smoky, late-night take on the Booker T classic is in actuality just another product of the Synthetic Plastics Company.

Formed in Newark, NJ after World War Two, SPC had a variety of plastics-related endeavors, but the most important of them – at least as far as we’re concerned – is the one that made records.

Over the next five decades SPC (doing business under a variety of label names, such as Curio, Peak, Power, Diplomat, Guest Star , Spin-O-Rama, and most famously Peter Pan) released all kinds of stuff, from kids music and stories (mostly the Peter Pan label) to a panoply of knock-offs of the hits of the particular day, in a wide variety of genres, on the others.

I have absolutely no idea who played on these records, but from hearing more than one of them, my guess would be a range of talent from experienced club/studio musicians to utterly disinterested hacks.

Fortunately, whoever was wearing the Sam Wright Group mask was better suited to the material they were covering than some of their fellow exploiters.

Since the aim of the label seems to have been taking advantage of the current popularity of songs, I’d date this 45 somewhere in the vicinity of late 1962, early 1963.

Interestingly, I’ve also seen a listing for the Sam Wright Group doing a cover of the Tornados ‘Telstar’. Whether or not it was the same group of musicians I cannot say.

I hope you dig the record, and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

PS Thank you Leah…

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 recreational 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 (5)

By Larry, January 8, 2012 3:07 pm

Listen/Download – Lloyd W. Williams – Be Mine Tonight

Listen/Download – Lloyd W. Williams – I Need You Now

Greetings all.

I hope everyone had themselves a nice weekend.

The fam and I managed to get out of the house to commune with my sister and her kids, up from the distant South for a late bit of Christmas, which was very groovy indeed.

Last week’s Northern Soul fest was also quite interesting, with an extremely lengthy comments thread at the end of last Monday’s post. I really dig when something I post here generates interesting conversation and this really fit the bill.

The tune I bring you today is yet another testament to the coolness of my man Tony C over in the UK.

I have gone on at length in this space about the many times Tony has turned me on to something cool, and this record is another one of those.

Mr C and I were chatting and he mentioned that he had doubled up on a record and would be sending one of the copies my way.

I dipped into my trade box and sent him some goodness as well.

I’d never heard of Lloyd W. Williams before, so when the package fell through the mail slot and I got a chance to play the record, I was blown away.

‘Be Mine Tonight’ is proof that there is always something cool out there that I haven’t heard yet, which makes the searching all the more fun.

I haven’t been able to turn much up on Williams, other than the fact that the record was recorded in 1969, is of Detroit origin, and was originally released on the Soul Beat label before being picked up for national distribution by ABC.

‘Be Mine Tonight’ is high octane funk with a wailing vocal by Williams and red hot instrumental backing. Whoever was working it out on the organ did a superb job.

It should be mentioned that this record also has an outstanding flipside, the mid-tempo ‘I Need You Now’ which sounds like it was recorded a few years earlier.

I can’t find any indication that the talented Mr Williams ever made another record.

I hope you dig both sides of this one, and I’ll be back 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 recreational 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 (4)

By Larry, January 5, 2012 4:48 pm

Dean Parrish

The US OG issue (above) and the 1970s UK reissue (below)

Listen/Download – Dean Parrish – I’m On My Way

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here and I am all but exhausted.

Lots to do hereabouts and despite the fact (or because of it) that everything is going as planned all I want to do right now is find a spot on the couch and nod off for an hour or two.

That said, a certain level of excitement is working its way through my stupor.

I have happened upon a couple of exceptional records in the last few weeks – which will naturally appear in this space soon – I got news of a very groovy DJ gig coming up this spring, and, best of all (at least for this moment) I get to end this week of Northern Soul with a truly stunning record.

I do not recall exactly when or where I first heard ‘I’m On My Way’ by Dean Parrish (I suspect it was on a mix tape many years ago) but it blew my mind and dug its claws deep into my brain (and my want list).

I searched for thus record high and low for a long time, getting outbid time and time again (it is a very popular record), eventually picking up a 1970s UK reissue so I could have it in my record box, and then, in a near mystical stroke of kismet, a nice, minty OG fell into my lap.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with my Timmy Thomas ‘Have Some Boogaloo’ saga –  wherein I chased the record forever, won a copy, seemingly lost it and then via a series of trades and the vagaries of the international postal maelstrom, ended up with not one but two copies of said record –  but ending up with doubles was a very groovy thing indeed.

On the very day I got that extra copy of Timmy, a DJ buddy contacted me to ask if I might be up for a trade, I asked what he had to swap and who should be sitting at the top of his list, but Mr Dean Parrish.

It was as if the hand of fate had slipped this monster of a 45 directly into my record box.

Released in 1967, the last of a string of a half dozen 45s Parrish (born Phil Anastasia) had recorded since 1964, ‘I’m On My Way’ is one of those 45s (particularly Northern Soul faves) that sounds every bit a huge, hit record, but was actually – like so many others – an abject commercial failure.

Though Parrish had had a regional success with his 1966 record ‘Tell Her’, ‘I’m On My Way’ – written by Eliot Greenberg and Doug Morris (who had written ‘Sweet Talking Guy’ for the Chiffons, and another Northern killer ‘The Next In Line’ for Hoagy Lands) went nowhere*.

This is (as I alluded to earlier) not a unique story, but once you’ve heard the record in question it is especially puzzling.

‘I’m On My Way’ grabs your attention instantly with its opening fuzz guitar line, leading into a brief opening verse before launching into a chorus that is so mind-bendingly anthemic you’re likely to bruise yourself rushing to turn up the volume.

Though Northern Soul favorites are often noted for their steady, four on the floor dance beat, ‘I’m On My Way’ bucks that trend with verses that could almost be described as rhythmically awkward, but when you take the chorus – so much musical rocket fuel – into account, it is very easy to understand why the record was the last of the legendary “3 before 8”** at Wigan Casino (the records played before closing time at every allnighter).

The chorus of ‘I’m On My Way’, with its mix of soulful vocals (by Parrish and the backing vocalists) and the soaring melody, from the moment where Parrish shouts ‘Baby!’ to the reprise of the fuzz guitar that closes the chorus, what you are hearing is 30 seconds of purely blissful music.

It’s easy to picture a room full of nearly exhausted dancers whipping themselves into one last frenzy, grabbing the last few minutes of the night and wringing all that they can out of them, a tableaux played out on countless dance floors all over the world since people started spinning records for people to dance to.

It is an anthem in every sense of the word and a fitting way to close out the week.

Make sure you grab yourself an earful of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, or pick it up as an MP3 over the weekend here at the blog.

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

Peace

Larry

*It has to be noted that after it gained Northern popularity ‘I’m On My Way’ was reissued on Jonathan King’s UK records in 1975 and proceeded to enter the UK Top 40.

**The ‘3 before 8’ were “Time Will Pass You By” by Tobi Legend, “Long After Tonight Is Over” by Jimmy Radcliffe, and “I’m On My Way” by Dean Parrish.

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 recreational 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 (4)

By Larry, January 3, 2012 3:24 pm

The Exciters

Listen/Download – The Exciters – Blowing Up My Mind!

Greetings all.

I hope that all of you have had a chance to dig into Monday’s mix, but also the lively exchange of ideas that popped up in the comments thereof.

What started out as a stylistic defense/cri de couer for Northern Soul (in response to some hostile commentary I had encountered elsewhere) ended up spurring a convo about the nature of scenes/genres and the way ideas and perceptions are formed about both.

Heady stuff, indeed, but I didn’t want the original thrust of the post to be lost, that being that I dig me some Northern Soul.

There have been several Northern-themed mixes posted in the space over the years (see the Podcast Archive and Soul Club tabs), and if I haven’t gotten my point across by now, I’m not sure what else I can, or should do.

I realize that it’s not like there’s some kind of crusade against Northern Soul out there that demands a response, but blogging being a personal pursuit, sometimes I am inclined to personalized an issue or two, toss it into my mental Cuisinart and give it a few spins.

Ultimately, I don’t suppose I’m going to change anyone’s mind, but it is always possible that the music will.

It is in furtherance of that cause that I’m going to spend the rest of the week posting a couple of particularly lively Northern faves that you might whip on doubters whenever they might cross your path.

The first of these is a song that I only heard for the first time last year, and as is often the case, my wig was good and truly flipped.

Previous to that moment, my knowledge of the Exciters was limited to ‘Tell Him’ – their huge, Golden Oldie hit from 1962 – and ‘Do Wah Diddy’ (from 1963) their OG of a tune that would be catapulted to similar status a year later by Manfred Mann.

I knew that their discography continued on for several years, but had no inkling that it contained anything of value.

Until – that is – I heard ‘Blowing Up My Mind’.

Released in 1969, not a year one would expect to associate with a Northern Soul classic, ‘Blowing Up My Mind’ is not only very popular with the soulies (as well as with collectors and DJs, making it fairly pricey) but an unusual, exceptional record in its own right.

The first few times I heard this record, the main impression upon the pleasure centers of my mind was limited to the melody and tempo. ‘Blowing Up My Mind’ moves forward at a very brisk pace, abetted by a pulsing bass line, combo organ signature and of course the driving lead vocal by Brenda Reid.

What I didn’t pick up until I got myself a copy of the 45 and gave it countless repeat spins, was the groovy, slightly crazy lyrics.

“Dynamite and nitroglycerine is like a firecracker compared to you…”

“It’s like a mountain climber took a ton of lead and dropped it from the highest peak right on top of my head…”

Etc etc

And the extra cool thing is that the hyperbolic nature of the lyrics is 150% justified (see what I did there…) by the explosive nature of the tune.

Northern Soul playlists are generally packed as tightly as possible with floor-filling anthems, and there’s no denying that ‘Blowing Up My Mind’ fits the bill perfectly.

Though the record sounds like it might have come out a few years earlier, one need only flip it over to get the 1969-y vibe, with the surprisingly funky ‘You Don’t Know What You’re Missing (Til It’s Gone!)’ (which I included in my recent guest mix for Amen Brother).

The bottom line, is that ‘Blowing Up My Mind’ is a killer 45, no matter how you roll stylistically.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Friday 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 recreational 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 (33)

By Larry, January 1, 2012 2:17 pm

Wigan

Carl Carleton – Competition Ain’t Nothing (Backbeat)
The Tams – Shelter (Probe)
Ambassadors – I’m So Proud of My Baby (Atlantic)
Billy Butler – Boston Monkey (Okeh)
Billy Harner – I Struck It Rich (OR)
Robb Fortune – Crazy Feeling (Now)
Tony Clarke – Landslide (Chess)
Patti and the Emblems – Please Don’t Ever Leave Me (Kapp)
Pat Lundy – Soul and Nothing But the Blues (Columbia)
Felice Taylor – Under the Influence of Love (Mustang)
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore at Me (Revilot)
Jackie Lee – P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y (Mirwood)
Platters – With This Ring (Musicor)
James and Bobby Purify – The Last Piece of Love (Bell)
Baltimore and Ohio Marching Band – Condition Red (Jubilee)
JJ Barnes – Sad Day A’Coming (Revilot)
Stagemasters – Baby I’m Here Just To Love You (Slide)
Soul Twins – Quick Change Artist (Grapevine)
Paul Kelly – Chills and Fever (Dial)
Bob Brady and the Conchords – More More More of Your Love (Chariot)

Listen/Download – F16C Radio v.96 – Condition Red – 84MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

First off, Happy New Year!

Let’s all raise a figurative (or literal, if you have one handy) glass in the hopes that 2012 will be a healthy and prosperous year for everyone.

Despite the fact that we ended last week – and the year – with a mix (albeit of recycled material) something happened during Christmas week that had me back in the crates again.

I – like many of you – spend a fair amount of my on-line time connected to Facebook. Despite the fact that a lot of people find the application to be a nuisance, I find it extraordinarily valuable in its ability to create a sense of virtual community.

I’m able to log in and interact with family and friends, close and far afield, connect to people of like mind (political and philosophical) and stay connected with other DJs/record collectors.

It has been mentioned here more than once that I first got turned on to some very cool records via Facebook posts.

That said, one of the distracting aspects of the site is the ‘ticker’, which runs highlights of my friends activity, even if it involves people who are not mutual ‘friends’, which is where our little story begins.

A few weeks back I glanced over at the sidebar, noticed the name of a DJ I respect and saw the words ‘Northern Soul’. My curiosity piqued, I clicked on the ticker and read the thread.

What I saw did not make me happy.

Those of you that read the blog on a regular basis will be familiar with the fact that I spent some of my musically formative years (back in the 80s) as part of the NY/NJ garage/mod scene.

While I met many, many very cool people, and had my musical horizons expanded greatly – especially in regard to soul music – there was always a contingent on the scene of people who came at the garage music ‘thing’ from a decidedly primitive/lo-fi angle, not unlike the bug-eyed, knuckle-dragging characters in a Big Daddy Roth cartoon.

My direct involvement with the scene came to an end toward the end of the 80s, but I still have many friends and acquaintances from that period, many of whom stuck with it a lot longer than I did, some all the way into the present.

This is not to say that I gave up on the music I was turned on to back in the day, because I still listen to vintage garage, psyche and pop on a daily basis.

However, the breadth of my musical tastes has widened considerably in the decades since then, and it has become apparent (at least to myself) that I approached the music in question from a more inclusive vantage point (which if you have any interest in this, you can dig into it over at Iron Leg).

I only belabor this point to make another one (look out), which is that there are people out there – the aforementioned primitive/lo-fi crowd, who look at soul much the same way they did garage punk, i.e. with an elevated appreciation for ‘rawness’, which isn’t such a bad thing, unless of course it precludes appreciation (and invites denigration) for anything that rises above that very simplistic criteria.

When I read that Facebook thread, what I basically saw was a group of these people enthusiastically shitting all over Northern Soul (not really including my friend the DJ who took what I would consider a much more measured tack).

Now, as our friends in France are wont to say, chacun à son gout (a phrase I picked up from my old man), which basically means ‘everyone to his taste’, i.e. not everyone is going to dig the same stuff.

Certainly words to live by…

But – big but here (heh heh…) – it is always important to make distinctions between matters of taste and fact, a line that was blurred drastically here, not to mention (to paraphrase Dean Vernon Wormer) that drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.

I understand that many people only dig a certain, wilder ‘flavor’ of soul music which is cool, but to suggest (as some of these people did) that Northern Soul is somehow not soul music, is dangerously uninformed about the music, as well as the Northern Soul phenomenon in general (about which many know little other than the name itself).

Anyone who has followed this blog over the years knows that my definition of ‘soul’ music casts a wide net, reaching from the early transitions from gospel and R&B all the way up into (and including) the disco era. I think that it’s important to realize that soul was (and is) in a state of evolution, influenced my many outside sources, musical and cultural.

There are artists whose careers are of such a depth and longevity that this evolution becomes visible (audible) over the course of their discography.

More often than not though, soul singers, by virtue of the fact that they didn’t get to make very many records, end up being identified with one specific sound (whether or not that specific sound is indicative of their talent in the broader sense).

It is important to note that Northern Soul is unusual (though not unique) in that it is a retroactively formed genre classification, when a certain kind of record (often but not exclusively obscure) was initially gathered and played out by DJs in UK soul clubs like the Twisted Wheel and the Golden Torch to which soul fans gravitated.

No one set out to “create” Northern Soul, but rather the name ended up being applied parenthetically to a group of sonically similar records (listen for the popping snares, sweeping strings, honking baritone sax and chiming vibraphone accents), many unjustly neglected when they were released, that were being listened and danced to in the North of England by a largely white, largely working class audience.

The sound – in brief – was bright, uptempo, imitation-Motown, i.e. pop-inflected, well-produced urban soul.

That Northern Soul is approached differently by most American collectors/fans and DJs is without question. Our experience is almost exclusively second-hand, and as a definable ‘taste’, it is often marginal.

This is not to say that there aren’t any Northern Soul fans out there, but that here in America, the scene as it were has never risen above a level of specialization (as opposed to the original scene in the UK where it was a genuinely popular movement, often placing older records into the contemporary pop charts).

There are certainly regular nights where Northern is prominently spun (I was lucky enough to DJ at one of them last year), as well as several rare soul weekenders, but almost nothing like the UK scene at its peak where thousands of fans would come out on a weekly basis to places like the Wigan Casino (voted the Best Disco in the World in 1978 by Billboard magazine) and the Blackpool Mecca.

This only goes to explaining that I understand that to many people, Northern Soul is at best a curiosity, and at worst hugely misunderstood.

It also bears mentioning that many musical scenes (at least in my experience) are clannish and parochial, in which the denizens of one group find little to like or relate to in those of another, whether it’s soul fans who can’t abide anything funky or primitivos who won’t listen to anything that sounds like it was actually created with aspirations to chart success.

In the end, the point I wish to make, and have endeavored to do so in this space before, is that Northern Soul is not only extremely vital and exciting, but is also, indisputably “soul”.

This is music made by some of the finest singers, producers, arrangers and musicians of the day, and is with rare exception well within the accepted confines of soul music in both style and substance.

The mix you see before you is a response to the uninformed ranting I saw – or at least a brief placed in evidence – that you can download and pass on to the haters in your corner or the world.

The set list of Funky16Corners Radio v.96 – Condition Red is assembled from all over the map, with cuts from Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Georgia, Florida and even that heretofore unsung soulful stronghold of Reading, PA.

There are contributions from some of the finest soul labels of the era, from Revilot, to Okeh, to Chess, Mirwood and of course Atlantic. You get solo singers (like Tony Clarke and the underrated Billy Harner), great harmony groups (like Philly’s mighty Ambassadors) and naturally some of the tightest backing groups of the day.

If there is a connecting thread, aside from the aforementioned instrumental building blocks, it is that these records are to the last anthemic, engineered to grab a floor full of dancers and lift them ever higher (not hard to picture when you’re working with BPMs often in the high 140s!).

So, pull down the ones and zeros, and if you are so inclined, pass a copy on to someone who needs convincing.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back later in the week with some more.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo)

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 very tasty UK Folk Rock.

Comments (14)

By Larry, December 27, 2011 7:58 pm

On the scene at Subway Soul

Willis Wooten – Your Love Is Indescribably Delicious (Virtue)
Bobby Doyle – River Deep Mountain High (WB)
Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In The Basement (Checker)
Barbara Lynn – Club a Go Go (Tribe)
Billy Butler – Right Track (Okeh)
Impacts – Thunder Chicken (Marmaduke)
Idris Muhammad – Express Yourself (Prestige)
Lavell Kamma and the Afro Soul Revue – Soft Soul (Tupelo Sound)
Sam Dees – Lonely For You Baby (Soul City)
Spellbinders – Help Me Get Myself Back Together Again (Columbia)
Jimmy Ruffin – 96 Tears (Soul)
Ella Fitzgerald – Savoy Truffle (Reprise)
Ray Bryant – Up Above the Rock (Cadet)
Mac Rebennack – The Point (AFO)
Della Reese – It Was a Very Good Year (ABC)
LaVern Baker – Batman to the Rescue (Brunswick)
Norman T Washington – Jumping Jack Flash (Pama)
Rivingtons – Pop Your Corn Pt1 (RCA)
Upsetters – Down Home (ABC)
Vernon Garrett and Marie Franklin – Second To None (Venture)
Curly Moore – Soul Train (Hot Line)
Dobie Gray – Out On the Floor (Charger)
Eyes of Blue – Heart Trouble (Deram)
Washington Smith – Fat Cat (Okeh)
Gene West – In the Ghetto (Original Sound)
Candido – Jingo (Salsoul)
Touch – Love Hangover (Breaking Down) (Brunswick)
Gene Ammons – Son of a Preacherman (Prestige)

Listen/Download – F16C Radio v.95 – 2011 Year In Review – 140MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the year is upon us, and so, as it has been in many years past, is the Funky16Corners Year In Review mix.

This assemblage of the finest individual tracks from this space over the last calendar year has become a tradition in which we sweep up around the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault (Funk and Soul Division) and piece together a puzzle of sorts that once assembled (correctly) should give a picture of where my head – and my crates – were at over the last year.

And what a year it’s been.

If you’d sat me down last December and laid out the coming year in front of me, I would have laughed, filled with excitement and then probably crawled under the nearest table in search of shelter.

The year got off to a great start with the beginning of my residency at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC. Over the course of the next eight months I had the opportunity to spin pretty much whatever I felt like (within certain tasteful guidelines) and it was a blast.

Botanica was a very chill location, with some very cool people, and despite the whole thing crashing down in a somewhat bittersweet pile of ashes, I would say that it was on the whole a very positive experience.

You all know that there is nothing I love better than spinning the music I love for an appreciative audience, and I had many very groovy opportunities to do so this year.

In addition to Spindletop, I was honored to get a chance to participate in one of the last Subway Soul nights, alongside Phast Phreddie, Girlsoul and Jumpy. It was a serious gas, where I got to spin some of my Northern Soul faves and hear the other selectors whip some heat on the ones and twos (I left with a slightly inflated want list that night).

The real treat of the year, though was spinning at Elliott and Jonna’s wedding down in Philly, which was an amazing experience.

Great people into great music with the extra added benefit of some delicious food. I can think of no better way to spend a summer night.

There was also the ongoing pleasure of doing the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which has really been a gas this year. If you haven’t yet tuned in, you can join the party every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, or pick up the show as an MP3 over the weekend (they’re all archived here at the blog, too).

I also got to spin records at a couple of local autism fundraising events which was especially rewarding for reasons very close to my heart.

Speaking of things close to my heart, 2011 was also the year that my wife was diagnosed with leukemia, an event that has verily turned our world inside out.

Though some superficial things have remained on a somewhat even keel, the axis on which my family’s life spins was shaken to its core this fall, and we have all learned to look at the world through slightly different eyes.

Things are on a solid, progressive track as far as my wife’s health is concerned, and we have many reasons to be optimistic, which doesn’t change the fact that no matter how sunny things look ahead of us, there’s always that shadow in the rear view mirror.

I have to make note of the fact that the readers of this blog have been extraordinarily supportive during this crisis, and that has been heartwarming and very much appreciated.

When I take a look at this playlist, it occurs to me that although there are some old faves and some longtime want list items finally bagged, there are also many, many new discoveries that came into my ears and then my crates over the past year, and that is the main reason that the Funky16Corners train stays on the rails.

It has always been my hope that those of you that stop by here on the reg are discovering something new and groovy, but also that you realize that this is a journey of discovery for me as well.

Big ups go out to fellow selectors like Tony C, Tarik Thornton, M-Fasis, Agent 45 and Midnite Cowbwoy for hepping me to cool stuff that I hadn’t heard before, all of which I passed on to you good people through the blog.

I will continue to do so.

I have no idea what 2012 holds for me, since things have really taken on a day-to-day vibe these last few months.

My main hope is that everyone here at home base stays healthy and happy.

Aside from that, I only hope that the next year brings some new sounds my way, and hopefully the opportunity to spread the love, whether through the blog, or in person as a DJ.

Either way, the very least any of us can do is follow that basic prescription in the Funky16Corners logo:

Keep the Faith.

See you next week (make sure to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio for the Year End Funk and Soul Dance Party!)

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk.

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 very tasty UK Folk Rock.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 25, 2011 2:41 pm

Felice Taylor

Listen/Download – Felice Taylor – It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring)

Listen/Download – Felice Taylor – I’m Under the Influence of Love

Listen/Download – Felice Taylor – Love Theme (Inst)

Greetings all.

I’d like to take this opportunity to ease you all into another groovy week here at the Funky16Corners.

I hope all is cool in your part of the universe and that those of you that celebrate had a wonderful Christmas.

Right now, my lovely wife is home with us through the New Year, so we’re all very happy about that.

I picked up the first of today’s selections  last year on the same day I got my car towed in Jersey City.

I’m always on the lookout for soul 45s on the Mustang label (known mainly for the Bobby Fuller Four) because of the involvement of none other than Barry White.

When I happened upon this disc by Felice Taylor, though I wasn’t familiar with her music, I did know that she was one of the artists that White had worked with, so I grabbed the record.

Good thing too, because when I got it home I discovered some very nice uptempo Northern soul, with a singer that bore a striking vocal resemblance to Diana Ross.

The California-born Taylor didn’t have an especially long recording career, having started recording as a member of the Sweets (with her sisters Darlene and Norma) in 1965, and then closing out her career three years later in the UK on the President label.

She recorded two 45s with White at Mustang, ‘It May be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring) and ‘Under the Influence of Love’, in 1966 and 1967.

‘It May be Winter Outside’ is taken at a brisk but relaxed pace with a sweet, almost baroque opening before dropping down into a danceable beat. The record is a remarkable slice of imitation Motown, up to and especially because of Taylor’s voice.

‘Under the Influence of Love’ is more of a floor filler, with an opening that seems as if it were modeled after ‘Reach Out’ by the Four Tops. It’s with this 45 that the resemblance to Diana Ross is most pronounced, making it perhaps the finest Supremes 45 the group never actually recorded.

I’m also including the instrumental dub from the flipside (entitles ‘Love Theme’) which I’ve played out before.

I find it surprising that records this infectious didn’t make a dent in the charts and I’m thinking that Barry White felt the same way because in 1973 and 1974 he would resurrect both of these songs and re-record them with Love Unlimited.

Taylor would go on to record two 45s for Kent, and then in the UK, two more for the President label, with two-sides of one of them (see picture sleeve above) written and produced by none other than Derv Gordon and Eddy Grant of the Equals.

After that, it would appear that she never recorded again.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back later in the week with the 2011 Year In Review mix.

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 recreational 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, December 22, 2011 3:25 pm

Harvey Averne

Listen / Download – Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get It Together This Christmas

Greetings all.

I’ve been dropping Christmas funk and soul all week, and when I got home today from running my various and sundry holiday and hospital-related errands it occurred to me that I had yet to repost this most excellent tune, and since I didn’t have a fifth cut ready to go, why not grab the old HTML, add a little contemporary verbiage and let fly.

So, here it is.

I should remind you once again that we have a very special Funky16Corners Radio Show Christmas Special dropping tomorrow (Friday) at 9PM on Viva Radio, and popping up in this very space as an MP3 on Christmas Eve, just in time  to fire it up while you’re torching the Yule log at home.

I will not be posting again until next week, so if you’re in the midst of Hannukah, or anticipating Christmas, or just chilling awash in the wonder of the season(s), our best to you and yours.

Peace

Larry

Originally posted 12/21/10

>>Christmas week has finally arrived, and so, as is the custom, have some funky and soulful holiday 45s.

I managed to get in a nice dig/hang this weekend down at the world famous Asbury Lanes where I managed to grab some excellent records (both the 45 and LP varieties) and meet up with some of my old mod scene compadres (Mr Luther and Mick) as well as AP45 Sessions’ very own DJ Prime Mundo. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I’ve made mention of the fact that I have never been a big collector of holiday music, Don’t get me wrong – I dig the jingle bells and the ho ho ho and what not – but with rare exception (generally the records that I feature here around Christmas time) I don’t go out of my way to add this kind of stuff to my record box.

Occasionally – as is the case with the Soulful Strings Christmas LP – such a record dovetails nicely with an existing obsession. Sometimes, as was the case with Clarence Carter’s ‘Backdoor Santa’, we might be talking about a record that kicks ass solidly despite the fact that it’s aimed at a Yuletide audience.

This week I’ll be bringing you two great holiday selections (Monday and Wednesday) and then taking the rest of the week off to enjoy the holiday with the fam.

I wouldn’t leave you hanging though, so make sure you tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show this Friday at 9PM, Christmas Eve for the first annual Funky16Corners Radio Christmas Special, for an hour of the coolest funk and soul sounds for the holiday. You’ll hear the Soulful Strings, Clarence Carter, James Brown and many, many more.

The tune I bring you today is nice but of funky Latin soul by the mighty Harvey Averne.

Averne was – like his bandmate and fellow Latin music legend Larry Harlow – a non-Hispanic (both men were Jewish) who played a big role in the history of the storied Fania label.

Averne, a vibraphonist, got his start under the name Arvito and his Latin Orchestra, playing during the 50s mambo craze, eventually taking over a band that included Harlow on piano.

He had a great deal of success as a musician (and in the construction business) but had probably his most important role as the mad behind the day to day operations of Fania.

Hired by label owner Jerry Masucci, Averne worked at Fania as musician, producer (of Ray Barretto’s ‘Acid’ LP among many other classics) and A&R man.

Oddly enough, his first record, among them the boogaloo classics ‘The Micro Mini’ and ‘You’re No Good’ were released on the Atlantic label, with Averne eventually having a bunch if stuff released on Fania and its Uptite subsidiary.

The tune I bring you today ‘Let’s Get It Together This Christmas’ is a funky mover, with the punchy bass, the jingling jingle bells, and an upbeat message for the season.

I haven’t been able to nail down a release date, but the catalog number would suggest something in the area of 1969 or 1970.

The flip side is a an otherwise groovy version of ‘The Christmas Song’, marred by the ‘contributions’ of a barking dog (who gets credit on the label!).

‘Let’s Get It Together This Christmas’ was also included on the excellent ‘In The Christmas Groove’ comp.

I hope you dig the tune.<<

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

Comments (3)

By Larry, December 21, 2011 8:21 pm

The LP (above), Miss Dorothy Ashby (below)

Listen/Download – The Soulful Strings – Jingle Bells

Listen/Download – The Soulful Strings feat. Dorothy Ashby – Merry Christmas Baby

Greetings all.

Today’s Christmas presents were originally posted back in 2007.

You know I’m a HUGE Richard Evans/Soulful Strings fan, and their version of ‘Merry Christmas Baby’ is in a dead heat for the title of my all-time fave Christmas record.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show Christmas Special, this Friday at 9PM where you’ll hear many of the old favorites and some newly discovered goodies as well.

If you celebrate, have a great Christmas, if not, have a great weekend all the same.

See you next week. – Larry

>>As I’ve stated repeatedly in the past, I’ve never been much of a holiday music collector. However, once in a while a personal obsession of mine also happens to have a Christmas record. In the case of Richard Evans and the Soulful Strings, their 1968 LP ‘The Magic of Christmas’ is a real gem.

The first tune I selected was the obvious choice (at least for me) because I can’t think of another version of ‘Jingle Bells’ that opens up with an honest to goodness drum break. I’m not sure who’s laying it down here (though I’m guessing that it is in fact Morris Jennings Jr.).

The second selection is a lush, sublime reading of Charles Brown’s classic ‘Merry Christmas Baby’ which features the brilliant Dorothy Ashby on harp. If you aren’t familiar with Ashby – I included her ‘Soul Vibrations’ on my collab with DJ Prestige ‘Beat Combination Pt2’ (check out the Flea Market Funk Mixes page)– she was one of the few harpists who could actually play jazz on the instrument, and the three albums she recorded for Cadet between 1968 and 1970 (in collaboration with Evans) are brilliant.

If your nerves are frayed (like mine) and the consumerist madness of the holiday season has you down, give this version of ‘Merry Christmas Baby’ a listen and all will (at least for a few minutes) be well, as it is positively sublime.

I’ll be taking the next week off to enjoy the holiday with my family and do a little visiting. I will most definitely be back with something for New Years Eve, so hang tight, enjoy your Christmas and I’ll see you all soon.<<

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 recreational 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.