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By Larry, May 8, 2016 11:57 am

Mel Brown

Listen/Download – Mel Brown – 18 Pounds of Unclean Chitlings Pt1 MP3

Listen/Download – Mel Brown – 18 Pounds of Unclean Chitlings Pt2 MP3

Greetings all.

I have written about the mighty guitar slinger Mel Brown a couple of times over the years, including (unfortunately)when he passed away in 2009.

Brown made some of the tastiest, funkiest soul jazz albums of the late 60s and early 70s for the Impulse label, and I always grab his stuff when I find it in the field.

So, a little while back my man Tony C drops me a line to say that he saw a copy of today’s selection as a very affordable ‘buy it now’on Ebay, so I jetted over there, dropped a couple of bucks and camped out by the maibox in anticipation of its arrival.

Recorded for his 1970 album ‘I’d Rather Suck My Thumb’, ’18 Pounds of Unclean Chitlings’ is a record as deep and weird as its title.

Featuring Clifford Coulter on the organ, and Brown working his wah-wah pedal to death, ’18 Pounds of Unclean Chitlings’ sounds like the traces of a distant broadcast drifting from your speakers.

Displaying the unmistakable influence of Jimi Hendrix and all of the crackly, hoodoo-soaked 45s that fed into his stewpot, the jam is as tasty, and sinister a 45 as you’re likely to hear today.

The album cut stretches to 11:10, which the 45 breaks down into two parts, edited down to a hair short of 7 minutes.

What Impulse thought they were doing sending this one out on a 45 is beyond me (imagine this oozing out of a jukebox), but I dig it a lot, and thought you might, too.

A couple of his Impulse dates (but not this one) are available on iTunes.

You should check them out.

See you 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, May 5, 2016 12:27 pm

Paul Kelly

Listen/Download – Paul Kelly – Chills and Fever MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, coming to you 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 at Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is an old fave, but maybe not the one you were thinking of.

The OTHER ‘Chills and Fever’, by Ronnie Love is a mod soul/R&B classic with a certain amount of popularity with the Northern crowd as well.

This ‘Chills and Fever’ is a completely different song, much easier to find, and also popular with the soulies.

Paul Kelly was an old school Miami homeboy of Clarence Reid (who co-wrote this 45 with Willie Clarke) who recorded a long string of 45s in the 60s, going on to have a successful career, releasing a string of LPs in the 70s.

‘Chill and Fever’ was Kelly’s first Dial 45 in 1965 (originally released on the small Lloyd label).

The song has a fast, four on the floor beat, bright, upbeat pop hooks and a great vocal by Kelly. It had some regional success but doesn’t seem to have made the R&B charts.

Kelly would go on to have a long string of R&B hits for Warner Brothers in the 70s.

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, May 3, 2016 11:49 am

Prince, Mitch Ryder and the Pointer Sisters (dig that 80s typography…)

Listen/Download – The Pointer Sisters – I Feel For You MP3

Listen/Download – Mitch Ryder – When You Were Mine MP3

Greetings all.

I can remember the first time I saw Prince.

I first became aware of his music when I was still in high school, and he popped up on the Midnight Special playing ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’. He was unlike anything I’d seen before, and at the time, unlike anything I was listening to.

When ‘Controversy’ came out in 1981 it was the first Prince tune that really caught my ear, but it wasn’t until 1984, when ‘Purple Rain’ came out that I actually owned one of his records.

Prince has never appeared here on Funky16Corners before, due mainly to the fact that we concern generally ourselves with soul and R&B of a much earlier vintage. That said, no matter how much, or how often Prince transcended those genres, he was a master of both and tribute must be paid.

Prince was one of those artists for whom the term ‘sui generis’ seems to have been created.

Though, in retrospect, it’s pretty easy to suss out his roots and influences (though maybe less so with the visual element stripped away, which considering that his fame came about during the video age may be a moot point), one of the reasons that he first rose to prominence was precisely because he was hard to pin down stylistically.

He was mixing then contemporary funky R&B with new wave and rock, reaching for the same threads that George Clinton had grabbed (Hendrix, James Brown*) and pulling them into a more streamlined future where he would expand on their appeal to the larger pop audience.

His status as a giant in modern culture, as a songwriter, musician, performer, discoverer and nurturer of other people’s talent in unquestionable and the size of the gap he leaves behind is sure to widen as the years go on and people have the opportunity to take in the full scope of his work and influence.

Though the first thing most people think of is Prince as a remarkable performer – a man who was able to combine the flash and virtuosity of Jimi and JB with the outsized showmanship of the P-Funk empire – he was also a great (and prolific) songwriter, evidenced not only is his own work, but by how many of his songs have entered the public consciousness via other artists.

The first time I can recall hearing a Prince song done by someone else was when Chaka Khan took ‘I Feel For You’ (then a five year old album cut by Prince) to the top of the charts in 1984. I didn’t know it was a Prince song when I heard it, but finding out that he had written it gave me a whole new level of respect for him.

The next decade saw Prince songs becoming hits by the Bangles, Sinead O’Connor, Sheila E and many others.

The cuts I bring you today are two earlier covers of his songs from the years right before Prince turned from a singer into a genuine phenomenon.

The first is one that I had no idea existed for years (probably because it was overshadowed by the Chaka Khan version), is the Pointer Sisters 1982 cover of ‘I Feel For You’.

Prince had originally recorded the song as a demo intended for Patrice Rushen, and it first appeared on his self-titled 1979 album.

Recorded for the group’s 1982 ‘So Excited’ album (the title track would hit the charts twice, in 1982 and then again in 1984), ‘I Feel For You’ follows the Prince original pretty closely, taking the tempo down a hair and pushing the electric piano to the fore. It provides an interesting contrast to (and bridge between) Prince’s original and Chaka Khan’s hit, which was by any measure one of the most exciting records of the 80s.

The second tune I bring you today is Mitch Ryder’s 1983 cover of ‘When You Were Mine’. First recorded by Prince for the ‘Dirty Mind’ LP in 1980, and then appearing as the flipside of the ‘Controversy’ 45, the song was recorded by Ryder for his 1983 ‘Never Kick a Sleeping Dog’, produced by John Mellencamp under the pseudonym ‘Little Bastard’.

Ryder had been one of the best blue-eyed soul singers of the 60s, and had by this time settled into a more rock/pop style. That wasn’t a hindrance, since Prince’s version of ‘When You Were Mine’ was pretty much a straight ahead new wave record. The song was a great fit for Ryder’s seasoned rasp and it was the last time he made a dent in the Hot 100. The song was covered the following year by Cyndi Lauper on her first album.

Though it’s likely many of you have already explored Prince’s discography, if you haven’t, check it out (especially the early stuff).

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

Keep the faith

Larry

*There’s a bootleg recording of Prince at the Fillmore in 2004 that features a scorching version of the JB’s ‘Pass the Peas’ featuring none other than Maceo Parker on sax.

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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, May 1, 2016 12:13 pm

The Allen (Toussaint) half of Willie and Allen

Listen/Download – Willie and Allen – Baby Do Little MP3

Greetings all.

What better way to start the week than with some of that rich, savory, New Orleans ish?

Willie and Allen were (no shock here) Willie Harper and Allen Toussaint.

Harper was a New Orleans singer that was a favorite of Toussaint’s, recording with the master – as a solo artist and as part of this duo and the Rubaiyats – a number of times through the 1960s.

Like many of Toussaint’s favorites, Harper was as talented as he was seemingly doomed to obscurity. Sometimes I wonder of there was some kind of dome over New Orleans, sealing in the talent, like if it leaked out the city would lose some level of artistic potency.

The story of a great singer, making great records that never really got any play outside of the Crescent City is one that pops up over and over again, to the point of being demoralizing.

The one Willie and Allen 45, today’s selection ‘Baby Do Little’ b/w ‘I Don’t Need No One’ was recorded and released in 1967.

It was the second-to-last 45 that Harper would make (with one more release on Tou-Sea before he popped up singing with the Wild Tchoupitoulas in the 70s), and it is, like just about everything else on Sansu, excellent.

With the music pouring out of the grooves like molasses, ‘Baby Do Little’ still manages to pack a little funk into the mix (albeit, a slow, slow variety), with Toussaint and Harper trading lines and working in harmony through the song.

I remember when I first started to get into New Orleans soul, and finding the slower pace somewhat hard to get accustomed to (kind of like finding the groove when I first heard reggae), but over the years coming to dig it a lot.

It’s a special head-space, but one well worth inhabiting.

This track and some previously unreleased Willie Harper cuts were included on the fantastic Sundazed comp ‘Get Low Down! The Soul of New Orleans 65-67’, which I believe is now out of print, but you can find a bunch of the material in iTunes on the compilation ‘Allen Toussaint: Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky’.

It is a groovy tune, and I hope you dig it.

See you 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, April 28, 2016 11:00 am

The Precisions

Listen/Download – The Precisions – If This Is Love (I’d Rather Be Lonely) MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast. You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, dig it on Mixcloud or grab and MP3 right here at the blog.

The 45 I bring you today is one of the greatest soul records to come out of Detroit during the classic era.

It is also a genuine Northern Soul anthem and was, believe it or not, a fairly substantial hit when it was first released in 1967 (on both the R&B and Pop charts).

‘If This Is Love (I’d Rather Be Lonely)’ is one of those records that manages to encapsulate everything great about soul music in the 1960s. It is brilliantly sung by the Precisions (another group that should have been HUGE), and arranged for maximum dramatic effect by the great Mike Terry.

There aren’t many records that grab you as quickly or forcefully as ‘If This Is Love (I’d Rather Be Lonely)’, from the opening horn and string fanfare, to the celeste/piano riff that runs under the opening vocal, right into the “AAAHHHHH!” by the group that kicks off the verse, the record packs a unique power to drag people out onto the dance floor (singing along the entire time). That the opening build up is repeated at 1:33, just pumps up the record even more.

I mentioned that ‘If This Is Love (I’d Rather Be Lonely)’ was a hit (Top 30 R&B, #60 Pop) and it ought to have been much bigger, but it was released in the middle of 1967, into a radio landscape thick with huge hits and didn’t get the shine it deserved.

The Precisions Sidra, Drew and Atco 45s are all excellent, and I am confounded by the fact that there isn’t a solid comp of their best stuff in print (there was a UK comp of their Sidra/Drew sides in 2008 but it appears to be unavailable).

I hope you dig the track, 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, April 26, 2016 10:58 am

The Soul Survivors

Listen/Download – Soul Survivors – Tell Daddy MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s selection comes to you courtesy of the Funky16Corners ‘Hey, I didn’t Know They Had Another Record’ department.

The Soul Survivors (of Philadelphia, PA) are best known as the band that put Gamble and Huff on the map with their huge 1967 hit ‘Expressway To Your Heart’.

Though they had a minor hit with 1967’s ‘Explosion In Your Soul’, their chart presence was in steady decline throughout their career.

Their Crimson LP and 45s are all cool, but for most people (myself included for a long time) that was the end of the story.

So, imagine my surprise some years ago when I found their 1969 Atco LP ‘Take Another Look’ at a garage sale. I honestly had no idea they’d ever recorded post-Crimson (they even went on to record for TSOP into the 70s!), so I grabbed the album and took it home.

While I wouldn’t describe the record as a complete success, I will say that it has some definite highlights.
Recorded partly in Philly with Gamble and Huff at the boards, and partly in Muscle Shoals with Rick Hall, ‘Take Another Look’ is definitely worth a listen.

My favorite track on the album is the Soul Survivors return to the original “masculine” version (the song was after all written by Clarence Carter, prior to its legendary recording by Etta James as ‘Tell Mama’) of ‘Tell Daddy’.

The arrangement adds a slightly more modern/swampy edge to the familiar sound, but the overall effect is classic soul, with great vocals by the band and some tight hornwork. There’s very little of the 1969, bare feet in the mud white boy over-singing, with the Soul Survivors keeping it right, tight and outtasite.

This LP doesn’t turn up a whole lot, but it is definitely worth picking up if you find it.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you 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, April 24, 2016 9:49 am

Sandy Nelson

Listen/Download – Sandy Nelson – Love Is Like an Itching In My Heart MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s selection sees us returning to the “you find groovy music in the strangest places file”, as well as another visit from our friend Sandy Nelson.

Long story short, Sandy Nelson was one of the most ubiquitous instrumental artists of the 1960s. The drummer had his first hits with ‘Teen Beat’ in 1959 and ‘Let There Be Drums’ in 1961, and though he didn’t make much of a stir on the charts after that, he churned out a steady succession of LPs (mostly for Imperial) in the 60s and early 70s, covering rock, pop and soul hits with a fair amount of style and verve, backed by the cream of LA sessioners.

Today’s selection is Nelson’s 1966 cover of my all-time favorite Supremes cut ‘Love Is Like an Itching In My Heart’.

Released on his ‘Superdrums’ LP, Nelson’s version of the tune has enough punch and style to make it on a soul dance floor. He hits that snare drum like it owes him money, and the arrangement, heavy on guitar and sax is a killer.

Nelson had enough style imbue his soul covers with plenty of heat (I really wish I had this one on a 45), and managed to attack garage and pop tunes with the same verve.

His records are cheap and easy to find at your better garage sales and flea markets (or on-line if that’s how you roll), and there is always something cool on them.

So get digging, and I’ll see you 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, April 21, 2016 11:06 am

Eddie Kendricks

Listen/Download – Eddie Kendricks – Boogie Down MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, so I will remind you once again to dig into this week’s Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast. The show drops each and every Friday and can be had by subscribing to it as a podcast in iTunes, listening on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, on Mixcloud, or as an MP3 right here at the blog.

There also may be some positive news in regard to a new internet radio home for the show, so stay tuned for details!

We end the week with one of my all time favorite slices of funky disco, that I have been a fan of since its original release back in 1973.

I can state unequivocally that I first heard Eddie Kendricks’ mighty ‘Boogie Down’ on WABC-AM (in NYC) while staying up all night in a pup tent on a Boy Scout trip. I can distinctly recall this one, as well as ‘Rock On’ by David Essex and ‘Until You Come Back To Me’ by Aretha Franklin (alongside ads for the local dragstrip, Raceway Park) winding their way deep into my impressionable, 12-year-old ears.

‘Boogie Down’, written by Leonard Caston, Anita Poree and Frank Wilson was Kendricks’ second consecutive R&B #1 hit, as well as a substantial Pop hit, making it all the way to #2.

‘Boogie Down’ is a fantastic example of the early days of disco, in which the records still had a decent amount of funk welded onto their frames. It is highly danceable (pushed along by a rolling piano line and percussion), and of course features Eddie’s mighty falsetto out in front.

While Kendricks continued to place records high on the R&B charts, this was his last significant Pop hit.

I hope you dig it (and get up and dance).

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, April 19, 2016 11:32 am

The Crusaders on the cover of ‘2nd Crusade’

Listen/Download – The Crusaders – Gotta Get It On MP3

Greetings all.

I though we’d all ease into the middle of the week with something funky by the mighty Crusaders.

If you’re a seasoned digger, it’d just about be a miracle if you weren’t already deep into the Crusaders catalog.

Their records, both in their earlier incarnation as the Jazz Crusaders (for World Pacific/Pacific Jazz) and then in their time as the Crusaders (the funky instrumentals on Blue Thumb/Chisa, like today’s selection) and the smoother hitmakers (like ‘Street Life’ on MCA), are ubiquitous and almost always affordable, and in most cases, worth taking home.

Today’s tune, the very groovy ‘Gotta Get It On’ hails from their 1972 LP ‘2nd Crusade’.

Written by drummer Stix Hooper, the tune is pushed along by Joe Sample’s electric piano, the horns of Wayne Henderson and Wilton Felder, and Larry Carlton’s guitar.

The Crusaders always had a funky edge (‘small ‘f’ funky’ in the old school, down and dirty soul jazz stylee), and their early 70s albums pump it into upper case, creating a very tasty, bright, somewhat laid back Southern California groove that you can hear echoes of in early Steely Dan albums.

You probably won’t be spinning this stuff for a funk 45 crowd, but its ability to get heads nodding is second to none.

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, April 17, 2016 11:03 am

Jimmy Cliff as Ivanhoe Martin

Listen/Download – Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get started today I would like to get in a couple of plugs for things that I am, and you should, be interested in.

First off, if you happen to be in the vicinity of Florence/Northampton, Massachusetts, make sure you stop in to my man Andy Crespo’s outstanding new record store, Electric Eye Records, at 52 Main St, Suite 6 in Florence. Andy is a righteous dude and he has put together a very nice place to stop and dig for vinyl. He has excellent taste and it shows in the selection at Electric Eye. I was lucky enough to stop in recently and left with a big pile of LPs and 45s.

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Second-ly, and while we’re on the subject of Jamaican-related sounds, you should check out the new EP by the Twilights, in which they work in the old-school ska stylee with a touch of dub flavor added in. I’ve been listening and digging their sounds, especially ‘Singer Man’ and ‘The Lonely Man Rides Away’.

You can check them out on YouTube, and purchase the EP at their site, or in iTunes.

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If you follow the comings and goings of the Funky16Corners blog you know that I love Jamaican music, from ska, to reggae on up into dub.

I owe my love for these sounds to the late 70s Two Tone explosion, and its propagation through the mods that I hung out with during the garage days of the 80s.

I cannot say with any certainly when I first heard Jimmy Cliff’s ‘The Harder They Come’. It is by any measure one of the most ubiquitous classic reggae songs. The title song of a the cult movie of the same name, and covered by a grip of artists better known in the pop world, like Joe Jackson, Madness (both of which, unlike Cliff’s original, charted), the Jerry Garcia Band, Cher (?!?), Keith Richards and even Willie Nelson.

Jimmy Cliff is particularly interesting, in that he was one of the first Jamaican performers to make a significant dent in the US charts, with ‘Wonderful World, Beautiful People’ in 1969.

When I started to dig for info on ‘The Harder They Come’ I was shocked to discover that Cliff’s version doesn’t seem to have charted anywhere (thought the soundtrack album was a hit in Sweden and reached #140 on the US LP charts in 1973).

I’ve tried, but I can’t recall another song that is both so well known/appreciated, yet also as commercially unsuccessful.

That said, ‘The Harder They Come’ is (whether you’ve seen the movie or not) unquestionably an anthem that transcends its reggae origins (I’d be willing to bet that it’s one of the only reggae songs some people know).

It has a brisk, percolating rhythm – dig the way the lead guitar and the organ weave in and out of each other – a pleading vocal by Cliff and a chorus that’s pure gold.

It’s a stone classic, and I hope you dig it as much as I do.

See you 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, April 14, 2016 9:26 am

Big Jay McNeely and Band – The Squat (Swingin’)
Big Jay McNeely and Band – Without a Love (Swingin’)
Leon Haywood – The Fat Fish (Fat Fish)
Leon Haywood – A River’s Invitation (Convoy)
Leon Haywood – Soul Cargo (Fat Fish)
Leon and the Burners – Whiplash (Josie)
Leon and the Burners – Crack Up (Josie)
The Packers – Hole In the Wall (Pure Soul Music)
The Packers – Go Head On (Pure Soul Music)
The Hideaways – Hide Out (Mirwood)
Leon Haywood – Soul On (Imperial)
Leon Haywood – Cornbread and Buttermilk (Imperial)
Leon Haywood – 1-2-3 (Imperial)
The Soul Machine – Bag of Goodies (Pzazz)
The Soul Machine – Twitchy Feet (Pzazz

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents: Leon Haywood at the Organ 1962-1968 MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, dropping 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 online via the TuneIn app or Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at the blog.

News came down the pike last week that the great Leon Haywood had passed away at the age of 74.

Fans of 60s and 70s soul would have been familiar with vocal hits like ‘It’s GotTo Be Mellow’, ‘Mellow Moonlight’ or ‘I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You’.

However, as I discovered – quite by accident, years ago – Leon Haywood was not only a smooth singer, but a Hammond wrangler of the first order.

Turning over a few of his Decca and Imperial 45s revealed organ instrumentals, and then delving deep into the mystery behind that recording of the Packers’ ‘Hole In the Wall’, it was gradually revealed that in addition to a great singing voice, Haywood was just as comfortable on the keys.

He recorded on organ and piano frequently through the 1960s, often as a backing musician, or under a group alias, and then pretty much abandoned the sideline as he got more popular in the 70s.

I had this mix simmering long before he passed away, but as soon as I heard he was gone, I moved it to the front burner.

Born in Texas, he moved to California in the early 60s where he hooked up with the band of R&B saxophonist Big Jay McNeely, with whom he made his first records as an organist. I’ve included both sides of one of his 1962 McNeely 45s, both tunes co-written by Haywood. ‘The Squat’ and ‘Without a Love’ both feature Haywood using a wide open, slightly distorted/overmodulated organ sound in a heavily reverbed production. ‘The Squat’ is a wild R&B dancer, with it’s flipside working a more sedate, bluesy side of the street.

The next few songs fall into the window of 1965-1966, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t in exact chronological order.

Haywood recorded a full album for the LA label Fat Fish in 1966, which included a few vocal numbers (but did not include his big Northern Soul number ‘Baby Reconsider’ which was on a later Fat Fish 45), as well as a grip of piano and organ instrumentals. I’ve included three tracks from this album, including the tunes ‘Fat Fish’, ‘Soul Cargo’ and his swinging cover of Percy Mayfield’s ‘A River’s Invitation’, which appeared on the album as well as a Convoy 45 (where I first heard it).

Next up is both sides of a 45 that I had for at least 15 years before I realized it was Haywood, by Leon and the Burners. ‘Whiplash’ – which uses a similar organ sound to the McNeely 45 – owes a debt to Alvin Cash’s ‘Twine Time’. The flipside, ‘Crack Up’ has a lean, Memphis sound to it.

The next two sides see Leon Haywood walking into the midst of the one of the most interesting musical mysteries of the classic soul era. The Packers ‘Hole In The Wall’ was a Top 5 R&B/Top 40 Pop hit in the Fall of 1965. The session was put together by LA DJ the Magnificent Montague, and included most of Booker T and the MGs (minus Duck Dunn) who were in LA recording with Bobby Darin, saxophonist Packy Axton of the Mar-Keys, and none other than Leon Haywood on organ (Booker T on piano) and Earl Grant on bass.

All would have been clear enough had this been the only record the Packers did, but Axton went on (with a variety of other players) to record a bunch of “Packers” records over the next few years, as well as both sides of the ‘Hole In the Wall’ 45 being issued in the US and the UK as two differently named songs by someone named Joe S. Maxey (more here).

Complicating matters even more, is the fact that Nat Nathan, sometimes with Haywood (sometimes without) would also record a bunch of ‘Hole In the Wall’-esque 45s (you can see the roots of the Packers “sound” in Haywood’s Fat Fish sides), including ‘Hide Out’ by the Hideaways on the LA Mirwood label.

As I mentioned earlier, Haywood included organ and piano instrumentals on his Decca LP ‘It’s Got To be Mellow’ and on the B-sides of his Decca and Imperial 45s. Included here are the originals ‘Soul On’ (45 only) and ‘Cornbread and Buttermilk’ (from the LP) and the 45-only cover of Len Barry’s ‘1-2-3’.

The last two tracks in this mix are the two sides of a great, funky 1968 Hammond 45 that I was after for years, only bagging a copy late last year. The Soul Machine’s ‘Twitchie Feet’ b/w ‘Bag of Goodies’ (recently covered by the Incredible Say Whats) were played, produced and written by Haywood, during his time with the LA-based Pzazz label (where he also recorded with Little Janice).

Now, I have no doubt whatsoever that there are gaps in this mix, especially where Haywood’s work as a sideman, or pseudonymous bandleader are concerned. I have a few 45s that I suspect are his handiwork, but no hard evidence to go on. If any of you have any records to add to the list, please let me know.

Haywood spent time between his 60s and 70s hits working in the studio, backing people like Shuggie Otis. He also started his own Evejim label, and worked as a producer.

He was a talented performer, and will be missed.

I hope you dig the mix, 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, April 12, 2016 11:57 am

Listen/Download The Chitlins – Sugar Woman

Greetings all

I first posted the Chitlins ‘Sugar Woman’ (a big fave) almost three years ago, with the small amount of info that I was able to unearth, mixed with some speculation.

Last week, group member Pete Killingsworth posted a comment fleshing out the details significantly.

“Hi Larry,
I somehow ran across your article about The Chitlins and Sugar Woman. I played guitar on that record. Decon John Moore also played guitar. Deacon John did most of the guitar work and I just played chops. The horns were from Deacon John and the Ivories. My brother Sonny Killingsworth played bass. Sonny Tanner is incorrect as he wasn’t on it. Chris Miller was the vocalist and piano player. Sam Roe played drums. Chris Miller and my brother has passed away so Sam and I are the only ones still alive. The producer was Allen Toussaint. Stanley Chaission was our Manager. It’s true we were The Soul Brothers from Pascagoula Mississippi and consisted of Chris Miller, Sam Roe, myself, and my brother Sonny Killingsworth. Deacon John and the Ivories were brought in for sweetening. The record company came up with name “The Chitlins”. We said we’d change our name only if it was a nationwide hit which it wasn’t. It did well in New Orleans though. I can’t comment on the record company itself as I don’t know anything about it except that they were out of New York. It was recorded at Cosimo’s recording studio in New Orleans. So there you have it from the horses mouth. Man that was a long time ago but I remember it like it was yesterday.
Best Regards,
Pete Killingsworth”

Thanks to Pete we now know that there were some NOLA heavy hitters in the studio, including Deacon John Moore and none other than an uncredited Allen Toussaint (the label lists Chase Records honch Stanley Chaisson) working the board!

I thought that it behooved me to re-post this most excellent record, along with the new info (original post below).

I hope you dig the record (or still dig it if it’s already a fave) and I’ll see you all on Friday with a special tribute to the keyboard expertise of the great Leon Haywood.

Keep the Faith

Larry

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Originally posted September 2010

Welcome to the middle of another groovy week.

The track I bring you today is both a fairly recent discovery for me and a major fave.

It is also something of a mystery.

A few months back I was perusing a new (to me) record site on the intertubes, and a glimpse of the Pala records label caught my eye.

One half of the York-Pala construct, it was run by two cats named Charlie Greene and Brian Stone. These operators are best known as music managers who came to prominence in mid-60s LA working with acts like Sonny and Cher, the Buffalo Springfield, the Poor and a cat you may have heard of named Dr John.

I had always seen the York/Pala credit on many records, but it was only in the last few years that I actually found a record on either label.

I have two 45s by The Poor (LA-based folk rock) but the Chitlins ‘Sugar Woman’ was the first Pala disc I’d ever encountered.

The label appears to have been very short-lived, with only one other release (by Larry Marks).

The Chitlins appear to have gotten their start – and spent much of their existence – as a white show band called the Soul Brothers, in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The first time I heard ‘Sugar Woman’, what grabbed me was the New Orleans guitar (sounds like George Davis to me).

As it turns out the band did in fact record their sole 45 in New Orleans for Stanley Chaisson’s Chase Records imprint.

I have not been able to confirm whether or not there was actually a Chitlins 45 released on Chase, or if it was a production deal that was licensed to Pala.

My suspicion – without any hard evidence, mind you – is that Green and Stone happened upon the Chitlins via one of the many New Orleans connections in their orbit. Harold Battiste was Sonny and Cher’s musical director, and both Mac ‘Dr John’ Rebennack and Alvin Robinson were both working on the West Coast during this period.

That said, ‘Sugar Woman’ is a positively scorching bit of garagey soul with fantastic lyrics like

Let her know she’s a real Jim Dandy, feed her candy!

And

Let her know she’s a ring-dang-doo sir, don’t lose her!

The guitar, bass and drums are in a deep, deep groove, and the horns and backing vocalists are spot on.

I don’t know who the lead vocalist is but he’s killing it!

Via some cross-referencing (and following a few hunches) I’m led to believe that the band included guys named Chris Miller, Sam Roe, Pete Killingsworth, Sonny Tanner, having had some crossover with a group called the New Grooves.

As I mentioned earlier, I hear the distinct guitar stylings of George Davis, but the entire record has such a New Orleans feel to it, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that this was the Soul Brothers/Chitlins singer fronting an entire studio full of NOLA pros.

In another interesting twist, the song is credited to country songwriter/producer Billy Sherrill, but I can’t find any instance of anyone else having recorded the tune.

The flip side, ‘The Next Time You See Me’ is an upbeat, bluesy shuffle.

“Sugar Woman’ was a local Top 40 hit in New Orleans in the Spring of 1967.

It is a truly remarkable tune, and one that I wish I’d had in my crates a long time ago.

I hope you dig it as much as I do, 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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.