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By Larry, September 25, 2016 10:29 am

Willie West

Listen/Download – Willie West – Keep You Mine MP3

Greetings all.

The beginning of another week is here, and as is my occasional custom, I bring you something guaranteed to ease you into things.

Willie West is one of the finest singers to come out of New Orleans, having recorded several amazing 45s back in the day, and then making a comeback in the last ten years.

His sides for Rustone, Frisco, Deesu, Josie and Warner Brothers, covering ground from deep ballads to spot-on funk are to the last, stellar examples of the greatness of the Crescent City.

Unlike many of his NOLA contemporaries, West had seen some success outside of the city, having had a hit with his first Deesu 45, ‘Greatest Love’ earlier in 1967 in a number of markets.

Today’s selection is the B-side of his second outing for Deesu (from 1967). ‘Keep You Mine’ (written by West) was paired with a rerecording of his first local hit, 1960’s ‘Did You Have Fun’, and it is not only one of my favorite NOLA ballads, but yet another incredible example of the sublime arranging and producing talents of the mighty Allen Toussaint.

‘Keep You Mine’ moves at a deliberate pace, with the instrumental backing just unobtrusive enough to allow West’s voice to shine, yet still filled with interesting touches that grab your attention with every listen.

The lead guitar accents, well-placed horns, and especially Toussaint weaving in and out with what sounds like a combo organ (really the co-star of the record) make this one for the ages.

Interestingly enough, the flipside of this record ‘Did You Have Fun’ (which deserves its own post) charted briefly in Detroit and New Orleans.

Willie West is another one of those brilliant, Toussaint-associated New Orleans singers, along with Eldridge Holmes, Diamond Joe, Willie Harper and Wallace Johnson, who really is deserving of having his work compiled and reissued by a quality outfit, capable of presenting it with the care it deserves.

I hope you dig this one as much as I do, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 22, 2016 1:36 pm

John R, On the Air…

Listen/Download – John R – Keep On Scratchin’ MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which appears wafting on the airwaves of the interwebs each and every Friday with the best in soul, funk, 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, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 right here at the blog.

If you are a fan old old-school radio, especially R&B radio, the name of John Richbourg, better known to ears far and wide as ‘John R’ looms large.

Richbourg, who was (unknown to most of his listeners on WLAC in Nashville, TN, where he worked alongside legends like Gene Nobles and Hoss Allen) a white guy (who spoke in a style that used a lot of black vernacular), was a pioneering R&B and soul DJ from the late 40s on into the 70s, as well as a talent scout/A&R man, and (with the Seventy Seven label) record man.

Today’s selection will attest to the fact that he was also, on occasion, a recording artist.

There are tons of stories out there, in books and carried on the air by the voices of musicians and music fans a like, of hearing the voice of John R, travelling over the airwaves on WLAC’s powerful AM signal (at night WLAC could be heard through most of the US and the Caribbean), bringing with it the sounds of everyone from Howlin’ Wolf to Otis Redding into their ears in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

Back in the day when radio DJs were literally and figuratively powerful, John R was an influential presence, selling music, mail order tchotchkes and soul.

Most people that came of age in the internet era will have no idea what a big deal radio DJs were back in the day, and in his time, John R was one of the biggest.

He recorded ‘Keep On Scratchin’ in 1965, and while he doesn’t really ever “sing” in the classic sense of the word, he does rap over a tight R&B backing, recreating (to a degree) the feeling of his nightly broadcasts (with a band and backing chorus).

I have no idea who ‘A. Valier’ was, who is credited with writing the tune, but the producer Jerry Kennedy was a busy man in the 50s and 60s, recording all kinds of country and R&B sides (he produced Charlie Rich’s ‘Mohair Sam’).

John R left WLAC in the early 70s, when radio was starting to morph into an entirely different beast, and passed away in 1986 at the age of 75.

There are a bunch of examples of his on-air style available on Youtube (and elsewhere on the internet), and you should definitely check them out.

I hope you dig the record, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 20, 2016 10:08 am

Miss Delores Hall

Listen/Download – Delores Hall – Good Lovin’ Man MP3

Listen/Download – Delores Hall – W-O-M-A-N MP3

Greetings all.

One of the great pleasures of doing a blog like this is discovering that names on obscure 45s have entire careers attached to them that I knew nothing about.

Today’s artist, Delores Hall is a great example thereof.

I’ve had the 45 you see before you today for a while (if memory serves I first heard it on Kris Holmes’ radio show) and I knew of (but do not yet own) her duet 45 with Jackie Lee.

That said, her presence on the Keymen and Mirwood labels suggested to me that she was an LA-based singer, but I had no idea.

As it turns out, Hall was not only a recording artist (she went on to make albums for RCA and Capitol in the 70s) but was primarily a musical comedy performer, working in the original LA cast of HAIR, and acting on stage and in TV and movies, including a long run on the show ‘Diagnosis Murder’ in the 90s.

Her 1968 Keymen 45 is one of those great, sort of crossover (not in the collector sense of the word) discs, with a Northern-flavored number on one side and something funkier on the flip.

‘Good Lovin’ Man’, written and produced by LA giant Fred Smith is an upbeat dancer with a great four-on-the-floor beat and nice vibes and guitar accents (right out of the Mirwood playbook) through the song. Hall has a powerful voice that soars into the rafters at points.

The breakdown at 1:27 sounds like an outtake from an Aretha Franklin session.

The flip, ‘W-O-M-A-N’, written by Smith and Jackie Lee and produced by Lee, is a funkier affair, with a slower beat, a more gospel-inflected vocal by Hall and more of a southern soul sound to it.

It’s a very cool 45, and last I checked, not terribly hard to find or expensive, either.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 18, 2016 10:26 am

Tommy Wills (seriously…)

Listen/Download – Tommy Wills – Funky Sax MP3

Greetings all.

As I was pulling selections from the to-be-blogged folder, I grabbed the 45 you see before you today.

If you dig anywhere east of the Mississippi (maybe west, too) Tommy Wills 45s are a pretty common sight. On variations of the familiar, blue Airtown and Juke labels (and several others, too) Wills cuts like the sought after ‘KC Drive’ and ‘(Funky) 4 Corners’ are always nice to find.

That said, though I’ve included Wills cuts in mixes, before I sat down to research this record I knew nothing about him.

My assumption had always been that he was in all likelihood a journeyman R&B/soul musician, and also (probably) black.

Well, as Felix Unger was wont to say, “When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME” (right on, Felix).

Turns out not only was Tommy Wills a white guy, but he was a fairly straight-looking middle aged white guy who was well into his 40s when he made these records.

The odd thing is, that for a guy who put out as much music as he did, and was still active as late as 2009, touring with a big band, there’s not a lot of info out there.

Wills apparently ran the Airtown/Juke labels (according to a 1970 issue of Billboard) based alternately out of Dayton, OH (thus the Airtown designation) and Indiana, putting out his own 45s (mostly on Airtown), and (on Juke) records by Dumpy Piano Rice and a variety of R&B, country and polka performers. The labels appear to have been set up to provide jukebox filler, thus the high frequency of covers and the wide variety of styles.

The Wills 45s I have are all pretty cool, and today’s selection, ‘Funky Sax’ is no exception.

Released in 1968, ‘Funky Sax’ has a Junior Walker flavor, with a soulful backing and some wailing sax by Wills. There’s also a very tasty organ solo (I have no idea who’s playing) and the overall effect is very groovy. I mean, since he was feeding jukeboxes, he called the tune ‘Funky Sax’, filled it with funky sax, so that when someone walked up to the Wurlitzer and dropped in their nickel, what they got was….get ready…funky sax.

I’m not sure if Wills is still around (he’d be 92 if he is), but as I said, most of his 45s are pretty easy pulls.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 15, 2016 11:56 am

Floyd Morris

Listen/Download – Floyd Morris – A Mellow Mood MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday with 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, check it out on Mixcloud or grab yourself an MP3 right here at the blog.

We close out the week with a very groovy bit of Chitown soul butting right up against funk.

As a certified Hammond nut, I have been picking up Floyd Morris records for years.

He was a Chicago-based piano and organ player, who came up playing in a group with Johnny Pate, and went on to play keyboards on a grip of classic-era soul and funk records in the Windy City.

Oddly enough, it’s supposedly Morris who plays the piano solo on ‘Soulful Strut’ (credited to Young/Holt, but, despite their incredible catalog, they do not play on their signature hit).

Today’s selection, ‘A Mellow Mood’ was released on Bill Sheppard’s BBS label in 1968 and is one of the coolest instrumental 45s to come out of Chicago (and that’s saying a LOT).

Morris is featured on piano, backed by an absolutely thumping bass and drums (which sound like they were lifted from Dorothy Ashby’s ‘Soul Vibrations’) and a great, chanking rhythm guitar (which gets louder in the mix closer to the end of the record), with Morris soloing over the proceedings. Plus, it was co-written by Andre Williams!

While the record isn’t quite out-and-out funk, it is certainly funky, and with a raw enough vibe that you could drop it into a funk 45 set and no one would blink.

It is groovy, relatively inexpensive, and the kind of 45 you want to spin repeatedly.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 13, 2016 1:01 pm

The Chambers Brothers performing ‘Call Me’ on Hollywood A Go Go

Listen/Download – The Chambers Brothers – Call Me MP3

Greetings all.

The Chambers Brothers are one of the coolest, and also most misunderstood acts of the 1960s.

Though they created one of the signature psychedelic records of the era in ‘Time Has Come Today’, one of those tunes that serves as musical shorthand for the 60s itself, their discography is much more diverse and interesting than that record would suggest.

Hailing from Mississippi, the Chambers Brothers – George, Lester, Willie and Joe – got their start singing gospel (evidenced in their strong, tight harmonies), worked their way up through the folk revival – appearing at Newport in 1965 and backing Barbara Dane and Hoyt Axton on a couple of records.

‘Call Me’ was one of their very first recordings, released on the LA-based Vault label in 1965 (it appeared on their debut LP ‘People Get Ready’).

The song has touches of contemporary rock, though the brothers’ voices push it well into the realm of R&B. They even do a little homage to the Isley’s ‘Twist and Shout’ in the middle of the song.

There’s a great clip of the group performing the song on Hollywood A Go Go.

They had a great knack (like Sly and the Family Stone) for wiping away the dividing lines between soul and rock, recording records like ‘Uptown’ and the oft-sampled ‘Funky’ as well as out-and-out psyche like ‘Time Has Come Today’. They would record well into the 1970s for Columbia and Avco (with Vault releasing material recorded in the mid-60s for years), getting funkier along the way.

Though the early Vault 45s can be kind of hard to find, their Columbia material is everywhere and is highly recommended.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

See you on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 11, 2016 10:50 am

Listen/Download – Frankie Gee – A Date With the Rain MP3

Greetings all.

I have a very groovy, very danceable 45 for you this fine day.

Featured back in March in the ‘Funky Music Is the Thing’ mix, Frankie Gee’s cover of ‘A Date With the Rain’ is stunning.

Originally done by the mighty Eddie Kendricks on his monumental 1972 ‘People Hold On’ LP, ‘A Date With the Rain’ was an early disco landmark and one of the most sublime soul records of the 70s. The song appeared on the LP and as the B-side of a 45 (both running 2:42) but there was also a 12” edit running over nine minutes that as far as I can tell is only currently available on YouTube.

That said, Frankie Gee, an LA artist who recorded a handful of disco 45s in the mid 70s for labels like Claridge, Lipstick, Sky and Galactic Star recorded his own version of the song in 1975, picking up the pace a little, adding heavier bass, organ and clavinet.

Though it clocks in at almost the same length as Kendricks’ OG, it has a more aggressive feel and probably could have had some success on the dance floor, but didn’t chart (unbelievably, neither did the original). I can’t even find traces of it on the disco charts.

Gee’s version of ‘A Date With the Rain’ has, however, built up a following with DJs since its release, and was pressed up I sufficient quantities by Claridge (a label with multiple lives) that it isn’t terribly hard to find or expensive.

The flip side is a bizarre cover of Lee Dorsey’s ‘Ya Ya’.

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

See you on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 8, 2016 11:09 am

Taj Mahal

Listen/Download – Taj Mahal – A Lot of Love MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove. You can (and should) subscribe in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud or grab yourself an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.

You all know that I am all about a groovy cover version, and especially when it comes from an unexpected source.

I have been a Taj Mahal fan since way back in the day, but always associated him with a more hippy/bluesy train of sound (if you will), from his early days with the Rising Sons, through his Woodstock-era sounds and beyond.

So, when I picked up an old CBS records loss-leader (so budget-y that it was released with two LPs jammed into a single sleeve?!?) and discovered Taj working it out on one of my fave soul tunes, Homer Banks’s ‘A Lot of Love’, I was stunned!.

The version in the LP was a longer (4:00) LP edit, but when I started looking on the intertubes for information, I discovered that there was also a much tighter 45 edit (2:44) that had a certain amount of popularity with the Northern Soul crowd.

I set myself a saved search, and before long the 45 popped up and I grabbed it for my playbox.

One of Taj Mahal’s greatest strengths (and also, oddly enough, a weakness of sorts) is that he was an able interpreter of all kinds of material. This is something that was for decades and essential talent in singers, but in the rock era kind of fell by the wayside.

He took full advantage of this talent over the years, and as as a result, his managed to avoid being pigeonholed, but also (unfortunately) avoided the charts.

‘A Lot of Love’ originally appeared on his 1968 LP ‘The Natch’l Blues’ which included traditional material like ‘The Cuckoo’ and ‘Corinna’ alongside soul material like ‘A Lot of Love’ and William Bell’s ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’.

While the longer, LP version of ‘A Lot of Love’ is excellent, the 45 edit is trimmed nicely to give it a lot more dance floor/jukebox appeal, thus its popularity with the soulies.

Aided by a tight band, including a couple of Leon Russell’s Okie homeboys, Jesse Ed Davis and Chuck Blackwell, Taj kicks up the tempo of the original, and delivers a very groovy vocal.

It’s a tasty bit of late 60s soul, and I dig it a lot.

I hope you do, too.

See you on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 6, 2016 11:39 am

Booker T and the MGs

Listen/Download – Booker T and the MGs- No Matter What Shape MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well, embracing the post-Labor Day warmth.

Here at the Jersey Shore, I’m enjoying the sudden excess of elbow room, now that the summer invasion is over. It’s a nice feeling to be able to get a cup of coffee, or some groceries without fighting a mob to do it.

This may not men much to those of you outside of tourist traps, but the psychic weight that is lifted off when the tourists finally go home is remarkable.

That said, today’s selection is a perfect soundtrack for that ‘vacation is over but I’m still digging the warmth’ feeling.

You all know that Booker T and the MGs were giants of Memphis soul, and I’m here to remind you that their album tracks were often as groovy as their hit 45s.

Their cover of the T-Bones 1965 hit ‘No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)’ was something of a revelation when I first heard it.

You see, the original, while a very groovy instro (played by the cream of the Wrecking Crew), was based on an Alka Seltzer jingle, and not remotely like anything you’d expect the law firm of Jones, Cropper, Jackson and Dunn to lay into.

Even so, Booker and band were so skillful, locked into such a mighty groove, that they were able to take something so utterly un-soulful, and transform it into a wonderfully groovy thing.

Thanks in large part to Duck Dunn and Al Jackson’s sock soul rhythm section, Booker T’s jazzy organ and a subtly tremeloed guitar by Steve Cropper, ‘No Matter What Shape’ is turned from a sprightly, somewhat monotonous AM radio thang, into a perfect, end of summer, you wanna (but don’t hafta) dance, head nodder of the first order.

Included on the MGs 1966 ‘And Now!’ LP (which also included the two-sided R&B hit single ‘My Sweet Potato’ b/w ‘Booker Loo’), it is one of the highlights of an excellent album (the version of ‘One Mint Julep’ is one of my favorite MGs cuts).

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 4, 2016 9:43 am

Major Lance

Listen/Download – Major Lance – Mama Didn’t Know MP3

Greetings all.

Welcome to another week here where the corners are funky and the music mellow as a cello.

Today’s selection is yet another one of those object lessons in flipping over your 45s.

I was goin through a box of wax and I pulled out Major Lance’s best known number, ‘The Monkey Time’, the first of a long string of hits that started in 1963, making him one of the finest exponents of classic-era Chicago soul.

That 45 was the work of a veritable dream team, with writing by Curtis Mayfield, arranging by Johnny Pate, and production by Carl Davis.

Now, when I took the disc out, I realized that I had no idea what was on the flip, so I flipped it over (naturally) to discover another Curtis Mayfield song, ‘Mama Didn’t Know’.

The title didn’t ring any bells, but as soon as I put under the needle, I realized that what I was hearing was an ‘answer’ record to Jan Bradley’s big hit (from earlier the same year) ‘Mama Didn’t Lie’, also – coincidentally – composed by the mighty Mr Mayfield.

Curtis, genius that he was, manages to ‘answer’ the other record, while dancing around the original melody, yet not getting too close, which is what a perfect answer record is supposed to do.

It helps that the team behind Bradley’s record gave it an entirely different sound, less polished than the Mayfield/Pate/Davis triumvirate, so Lance’s number never gives off rip-off vibes.

It may not be a monumental or essential disc, but it is proof, yet again of the amazing well of talent available in Chicago during the 60s.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, September 1, 2016 11:38 am

Mickey and the Soul Generation

Listen/Download – Mickey and the Soul Generation – Football MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday 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, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com.

I thought we’d end the week with another groovy instrumental, this time pulled from the catalog of the mighty Mickey and the Soul Generation.

Best known for the awe inspiring ‘Iron Leg’, Mickey and the Soul Generation were a multi-racial funk outfit from San Antonio, Texas, that recorded for the Texas labels Mr G, GC and Omega, and had two of their 45s picked up for national distribution on the Maxwell label (also home to Ben E King and Faith, Hope and Charity).

‘Football’ was released in 1970 as the B-side to ‘Joint Session’ and is as jazzy and fast moving as ‘Iron Leg’ is slow, heavy and grinding.

You get lots of organ, saxophone and guitar, and the band making plenty of party noises in the background.

The cool thing is, that the flip is tasty, too, and as far as hot funk 45s go, Mickey and the Soul Generation’s Maxwell sides aren’t terribly expensive.

You can also pick up the awesome reissue comp put out by the Numero Group.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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, August 30, 2016 10:27 am

Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers

Listen/Download – The Soul Brothers – Horsing Around MP3

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today is yet another, perhaps more obscure chapter in the story of Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers.

As has been recounted in this space many a time, Gordon and his band came out of the Carolinas and made themselves a name and a career in New York.

They recorded for a number of labels in the 60s – Enrica, Capitol, RCA, Wand, Estill, Phil LA of Soul – and their 45s are all excellent and worth picking up.

The disc you see before you was a 1968 release, and as the title and the sound of the record will reveal was created in the wake of, and in an attempt to cash in on, the success of Cliff Nobles & Co’s ‘The Horse’, a massive hit in ’68 and an extremely influential disc, in and out of Philadelphia.

Newmiss was a shortlived label with a brief discography that seems to have been based out of Chicago (or at least focused on mostly Chitown artists, Mr Gordon and the band excepted).

‘Horsing Around’ is a funky, fast-moving side that as I said above, works around the basic ‘Horse’ framework, with a galloping beat and a blazing horn section.

As far as I know, this is the only side billed exclusively to the Soul Brothers.

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

See you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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.