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By Larry, October 10, 2013 11:57 am

Listen/Download Kim Melvin – Doin’ the Popcorn

Listen/Download Kim Melvin – Keep the Faith

Greetings all

It is now that must do my Friday duty and remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and very Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. You can also keep up with the show by subscribing as a podcast in iTunes, or by grabbing an MP3 at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a funky little dancer.

I first came upon Kim Melvin’s ‘Doin’ the Popcorn’ a couple of years back when my man DJ Hambone let it fly on the tables at Botanica.

The 45 was added to the old want list and eventually popped up for a satisfactory price, so I bought it.

Kim Melvin (aka Melvin Kimmons) was a Memphis-based singer who recorded a handful of 45s for local labels between the mid-60s and the late-70s.

‘Doin’ the Popcorn’ is a very groovy, very drum-my entry into the 1969 Popcorn sweepstakes (long dominated by James Brown and associated acts).

I really dig the organ on the track, as well as Melvin’s voice, as well as the chorus which has echoes of Junior Walker’s ‘Shotgun’.

The sax-o-mo-phones are cool, too.

If you are so inclined, give the flipside ‘Keep the Faith’ a spin.

The song is a passionate, if oddly executed ballad, with a band that sounds as if they keep losing the key (especially the organist who seems like he might be a touch deaf…).

Melvin’s vocal saves the whole affair, dragging it back into “inspired” territory, where it exists with records like the Twilights ‘Shipwreck’.

As always, 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.
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.

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By Larry, September 29, 2013 1:50 pm

Kin Vassy (top) and at left with the First Edition

John Randolph Marr

Listen/Download Kin Vassy – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

Listen/Download The First Edition – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham (Live)

Listen/Download John Randolph Marr – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

Greetings all

I have something very special for you today.

A short time ago I met up with someone on Facebook with whom I had a mutual friend.

While perusing his timeline I saw that he had posted a video by the First Edition doing a song I’d never heard before called ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’.

If the name of that group is vaguely familiar, it was the spawning ground of none other than Kenny Rogers, and a band that had a couple of major hits, including their 1968 cover of Mickey Newbury’s ‘I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)’, which is featured prominently in ‘The Big Lebowski’.

Anyway…I gave the aforementioned video a spin and was blown away.

First off, while I own (and dig) a couple of First Edition singles, I had never heard them do anything like ‘Hello LA…’, and the live performance – from their early 70s TV variety show (included below) – is absolutely smoking.

The real revelation was the lead singer of the song, a cat named Kin Vassy.

Vassy (Kin was a truncated version of his middle name, Kindred) was the singer/guitarist with the First Edition, replacing Mike Settle in 1969.

He had been a member of the 60s folk group the Back Porch Majority, and had recorded a couple of solo singles before hooking up (and apparently during his tenure) with the First Edition.

One of these is today’s selection, ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’.

When I started digging around I was surprised that I hadn’t encountered the song before.

Co-written by Mac Davis and Delaney Bramlett, it was recorded by a wide variety of artists, including Blue Cheer, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band,  Juicy Lucy, and even Nancy Sinatra (you can seek out many of these on YouTube).

The popularity of the song doesn’t surprise me, since it has the kind of funky framework that works well at just about any speed, as well as a fantastic lyric about a cat that bags his home turf and goes on the road to seek success as a songwriter.

Though Mac Davis did record it. I haven’t been able to nail down who did the original version, since most of the ones I’ve found seem to pop up around the same time.

One other excellent version of the song (also included here) was recorded in 1969 by John Randolph Marr. It is in fact his version that was recently comped by Light In the Attic on their excellent ‘Country Funk’ collection, which brings me to the point I’ve been wanting to make.

There was something in the air (and the recording studios) of the South in the mid-to-late 60s and onward wherein (mostly) white musicians with a taste for gospel, R&B, soul and funk began to stir up a (if you’ll forgive the term) gumbo of those sounds with country, swamp pop and rock.

The most well-known and successful proponents of this sound were guys like Tony Joe White and Joe South, but you can also include folks like Bobbie Gentry and Davis in the mix as well.

While there’s a temptation to affix the term ‘blue eyed soul’ to some of these sounds, I think what we’re dealing with is something else entirely.

There were plenty of white soul singers working during this time period, including guys like Wayne Cochran and Roy Head, but they were by and large working solely in black styles.

The country funkers (for lack of a better term) were coming into their sound by creating an organic mixture of white and black styles, in the end creating something less than a movement but still a recognizable sound.

Little of the music made by these artists is out and out funk, but it is undeniably funky.

Kin Vassy’s studio version of ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’ works a mid-tempo funky beat, adding in twangy lead guitar (dobro, too) and Vassy’s hard-edged, soulful vocals. Hearing Vassy sing, with the First Edition and solo was something of a revelation. He was a mighty singer, and in an age where every leather-lunged, longhaired shouter was trying to approximate Wilson Pickett (who would have done a spectacular version of this song), Vassy was able to soar as well as work the quiet passages.

The First Edition manages (surprisingly enough) to toughen the song up even more. Vassy is wailing and drummer Mickey Jones dials up the funk a bit.

I decided to include John Randolph Marr’s take on the song for contrast. Though he takes things a slightly slower pace, the drums and bass are killing it, and Marr had cool, whiskey-tinged voice (I hear a bit of David Clayton Thomas in there). The rest of the album – co-produced by Harry Nilsson under the aegis of his Nilsson House Productions – is an odd mix of country soul and chamber pop.

Interestingly enough, after the dissolution of the First Edition, Kin Vassy spent a short time recording and touring with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. He’s featured on the ‘Overnight Sensation’ LP.

He went on to work as a session singer/musician, eventually settling in Nashville and having some success as a performer and songwriter.

Sadly, Kin Vassy succumbed to cancer in 1994 at the age of 50.

I hope you dig the sounds, 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.
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.

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By Larry, September 22, 2013 2:57 pm

Roy Ayers

Listen/Download Roy Ayers Ubiquity – Running Away

Greetings all

Things being what they are, with the air cooling and everyone finding their wayback into the post-summer groove, I thought I’d like to get the week started with something a little funky.

But before we get started, I have something very cool to share with you.

This past Saturday morning I was sitting on the sofa, still waking up and getting ready to post the link to the archive of Friday night’s Funky16Corners Radio Show (i.e. a routine Saturday…).

While I was on the Funky16Corners Facebook page, I noticed a message I hadn’t seen from a fan of the blog that contained the following text:

“I’m probably late to the party on this, but I just finished reading Telegraph Avenue and was psyched to see one of my favorite blogs listed in the acknowledgements!”

Well, this came as something of a shock, mainly because I had read Michael Chabon’s ‘Telegraph Avenue’ (excellent novel centered around a record store) and while I enjoyed it immensely, I never noticed the acknowledgements.

Fortunately for me, the book was sitting in a stack on the telephone table right next to me, so I excitedly pulled it from the pile and this is what I saw:

I had no idea.

If you haven’t read the book, you should really check it out (it’s in paperback now).

Not only is Chabon an excellent writer (The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union) but he really manages to capture what music lovers and vinyl fiends really love about record stores, all woven into a complex and satisfying story.

I’m glad I only found out about this after I read the book, because I probably would have approached it differently.

Anyway, that was my weekend, now, on to the music.

I think it’s probably a safe assumption that you al know who Roy Ayers is.

Whether you’re tuned in only to the later ish, like ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’ or you have a grasp on the deep, jazzier end of his catalog when he was vibing behind cats like Jack Wilson and Curtis Amy, you know that the man is nothing if not versatile.

I found my way into his discography from the bottom up, meaning the first time I ever heard him on the vibes was when I was lucky enough to find a copy of Jack Wilson’s early 60s ‘Ramblin’ LP, which quicklybecame one of my favorites.

From there, it was on to Ayers work as a sideman for Herbie Mann, as well as his own solo albums from that period, and then on into the heavily sampled 70s era.

It is from that latter period that I bring you today’s selction, ‘Running Away’.

Released in 1977 from his ‘Lifeline’ album, ‘Running Away’ is fast moving jazz-inflected funk that was catchy enough that it made it into the R&B Top 20 that year.

The bass line and percussion is especially sharp, and vocals by Edwin Birdsong keep things moving.

The tempo made the record perfect for disco dance floors, though you’d probably never think of it as disco.

The record was later sampled by Big Daddy Kane and A Tribe Called Quest.

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

I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

PS Yes, I know it’s the “old” URL but I’m sure the whole package was put together more than a year and a half ago

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

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By Larry, September 15, 2013 11:11 am

Frank Howard

Listen/Download Frank Howard and the Continentals – Do What You Wanna Do Pt1

Listen/Download Frank Howard and the Continentals – Do What You Wanna Do Pt2

Greetings all

The tune I bring you today is a later bit of funky work from a very interesting cat by the name of Frank Howard.

I first encountered Howard and his first group, the Commanders on one of the old Bear Family DVDs of the Nashville TV show ‘The Beat’.

The performance of their brilliant (and rare, and expensive…*) tune ‘I’m So Glad’ knocked me out.

It’s one of those records that you hear and absolutely cannot believe it was deprived a place of honor on the charts.

While I haven’t (yet) scored a copy of that particular 45, while I was out digging earlier this year I encountered a later, funkier 45 by Mr Howard, that being the disc you see before you this fine day.

Credited to Frank Howard and the Continentals, ‘Do What You Wanna Do Pts 1&2’ – which came out (I think) in 1969 on the DeLuxe label is a mid-tempo burner, with a largely spoken vocal by Howard.

The whole thing is driven by the guitar (the bass and drums are fairly low key) and the horns, which keep stabbing through the verse and the chorus. The sax solo bridges parts 1&2,and the lead guitar gets to work it out a little on the second half.

The tune was co-produced by Nashville DJ (and well-lubricated host of The Beat) Hoss Allen, and is credited to Jane Meredith (no idea whatsoever who that was…).

Over the years Howard recorded 45s for labels like Barry (‘I’m So Glad’), Excello, Hermitage and Dot.

I do not know at what point the Commanders morphed into the Continentals, but it would seem that this is the only record they made.

Frank Howard is still around and performing in the Nashville area.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

*In addition to the fact that it is in demand on the Northern soul scene, ‘I’m So Glad’ features the guitar playing of a young fellow by the name of Jimi Hendrix…
 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

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By Larry, August 27, 2013 11:07 am

Junior Brantley

Listen/Download Junior and the Classics – Wise Up

Listen/Download Junior and the Classics – Mix Up (A Go Go)

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

I cannot remember when or where I picked up the 45 I bring you this fine day, but I suspect I did grab it because it was on the Magic Touch label (and how in all honesty could I pass on a record called ‘Mix Up a Go Go’???)

Magic Touch was a Milwaukee, WI based imprint operated by a cat named Lenny LaCour. Between the mid-60s and the 80s Magic Touch released a variety of sounds by groups like Harvey Scales and the Seven Sounds (the Magic Touch 45s I already had) and Marvelle and the Blue Match, in addition to the occasional garage single.

Junior and the Classics had their first (and only) hit with a raving cover of Rufus Thomas’s ‘The Dog’ on the Groove label in 1964, which was a regional hit in Milwaukee.

They released three 45s on Magic Touch (with Wise Up appearing on two of them), with the last, the funky ‘Kill the Pain’ being picked up for national distribution by Atco.

The band was led by keyboardist Robert ‘Junior’ Brantley who went on to play and record with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Roomful of Blues.

I haven’t been able to find any pictures of the band, but some cross-referencing (and their sound) suggests to me that they were an integrated outfit, racially and stylistically.

‘Wise Up’ (from 1966) is a swinging dancer with pounding bass and rhythm guitar, augmented by handclaps, drums, combo organ and a really interesting saxophone line.

The flip, ‘Mix Up (a Go Go)’, which opens with a groovy drumbreak is one of those great numbers where all the hot dances get namechecked. I really dig the chorus as well as the piano.

If you dig the sounds, and feel the need to file some Junior and the Classics in your record box, know that they fall into that grey area of not-too-expensive b/w not-too-cheap either, running in the $25 to $50 range (with the sought after ‘Kill the Pain’, the most expensive).

I hope you dig the tunes, 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.

Comments (3)

By Larry, August 25, 2013 12:59 pm

Listen/Download The Exotics – Boogaloo Investigators

Greetings all

I was recently digging through my own crates to pull out some stuff for the radio show (and the blog, natch).

When I almost flipped past the record you see before you, I just shook my head.

You see, the Exotics ‘Boogaloo Investigator’ is a long, LONG time favorite and a very “early days” funk 45.

Picked up many years ago, after (if memory serves) hearing it on a mix tape, and for not a lot of scratch (though it’s a lot more expensive now), the 45 was a perennial in my funk sets, and one of those records that always gets me to kick up the volume when it comes on in the car.

Oddly enough, after all these years, I had never found any information about the group, thanks in large part to the fact that the fine folks at Excello didn’t feel it was necessary to include composer or producer credits on either side of the 45.

Fortunately for all of us, while a-Googling, I happened upon some info on Sir Shambling’s Deep Soul Heaven site.

As it turns out, the Exotics were a South Carolina group that recorded two 45s for the Nashville-based Excello organization in 1967.

‘Boogaloo Investigator’, a JB-inspired workout with a touch of novelty (re Dragnet) is a mover and a groover.

Their second 45, ‘Let’s Try to Build a Love Affair’ (you can hear it over at Deep Soul Heaven) is one of the great Otis Redding sound-alikes (by vocalist John Riley) ever committed to vinyl.

I hope you dig the sounds, 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.
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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 28, 2013 2:22 pm

Listen/Download Benny Scott – Soul Beat

Greetings all

I figured it might behoove me to get the week off to a start with something obscure, and of course, funky.

I picked up today’s 45 last year whilst getting my record show dig on.

When I encountered the old, familiar Brunswick label, and then saw the title ‘Soul Beat’, you just know I had to slap this one onto the keeper pile.

As it turns out this was a fortuitous decision, since Benny Scott’s ‘Soul Beat’ is a very hot bit of funk from 1970, with some tight horns (it’s mostly a horn feature) and a particularly messy, yet very cool guitar solo.

Information on Benny Scott himself has been hard to come by.

It would appear that he was a Chicago-based bass player (he played with both Curtis Mayfield and Leroy Hutson), and while my first instinct was to associate him with the Scott Brothers who recorded for Toddlin’ Town (and other labels) I don’t think there was a Benny in their midst.

Either way, the 45 has quite a bit of flavor, and I would not hesitate to offer it up to a dance floor full of sweaty groovers.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

*Chills and Fever was first issued as by ‘Johnny Love’ on the Startime label a few months earlier
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, July 18, 2013 11:24 am

Harvey Averne

Listen/Download Harvey Averne Band – Run Away Child Running Wild

Greetings all

The end of the week is nigh, so I will instruct you once again to twist the knobs on your Radiola until you dial into the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio.

If you are otherwise disposed, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 download out of the archive at the blog.

The cut I bring you today is an especially tasty bit of Latin funk, which I featured in an old Funky16Corners Radio mix back in the day.

If you have even a passing knowledge of the world of Latin soul and boogaloo, then the name Harvey Averne should be a familiar one.

Through the 60s and 70s, Averne was one of the major proponents of New York-based Latin soul and funk (and eventually salsa).

A vibraphonist and bandleader, Averne, like Latin music giant Larry Harlow, was not latino at all, but rather a Jew from the outer boroughs of New York.

The recordings he made in the 60s, for labels like Atlantic, Fania and Uptite are prime examples of the sound, and big favorites of mine as well.

The track I bring you today is a cover of the Temptations 1969 hit ‘Run Away Child (Running Wild)’.

You get lots of groovy piano, Latin percussion, and of course Avernes ringing vibes laying down a very cool version of the Whitfield/Strong classic.

Released in either 1969 or 1970 (I haven’t been able to nail down the date), ‘Runaway Child (Running Wild)’ is another great example of Averne taking source material from outside the Latin world and laying a little sabor in the grooves.

His treatment of the Temps classic is every bit as danceable as the OG, and then some.

Uptite was a very interesting label, releasing only 45s on between 1969 and 1971 by Averne, Joe Bataan, the 125th St Candy Store, Parrish and a few others.

Most of the 45s aren’t too hard to come by, with the marked exception of Averne’s ‘Never Learned To Dance’ which is exceptionally rare and expensive.

I hope you dig the sounds and I’ll see you in a few days.

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 11, 2013 12:30 pm

Listen/Download – The Electrostats- 21st Century Kenya

Greetings all.

The next couple of weeks will be jam packed with events here at Funky16Corners central, so I’ll be republishing some of my favorite tunes from the Funky16Corners Archives. I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back with all new stuff starting next Monday.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio!

Larry

Originally posted 03/27/2006

>>Greetings all.

Monday is upon us, and I can assure you that I was no more eager to depart the safe, warm confines of my bed this morning than any of you were.

I had a sort of weird yin/yang weekend, one day spent hanging with old friends and family – good times all around – and another unable to convince anything thicker than tap water to stay in my stomach.

It was, I assure you, a hoot. As I write this morning, all appears to be well. Was God punishing me for saying unpleasant things about his loyal servant George W. Bush?

I mean, you’d kind of hope that God would be cooler than that, but you never know.

Anyway… Today’s entry will be considerably less verbose than most, because just about the only incontrovertible fact that I can supply you with about today’s selection is that it was recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The record I speak of is ‘21st Century Kenya’ by the Electrostats.

Released on the Three Oaks label – which was also home to Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington’s “Heavenly Vibrations (You Give Me)” / “Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine” – the record features the funky instro by the Electrostats on one side, and the band backing vocalist Hillary McGinnis on the ballad ‘Weak As You Want To Be’ on the other.

I first heard of the Three Oaks label back when Wax Poetics ran their comprehensive Eddie Bo feature.

The Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington 45 I just mentioned was an Eddie Bo production (one of three 45s he produced for Washington on various N.O. labels) that was previously unknown to me, as was the label itself.

Not too long after reading that feature, while a-Googling, I happened upon mentions of the Electrostats 45. After seeing a couple of positive comments from reliable sources, I decided to seek out my own copy. I finally scored one recently, and the search proved to be worthwhile.

Opening with heavy wah-wah guitar, the organ (which takes the lead for most of the song) comes in, followed immediately by the bass, drums and percussion.

While the title and to a certain extent the percussion suggest an attempt to latch on to other Afro-centric funk sounds of the era (which I guessing is the early 70’s), the record doesn’t exactly scream dashikis and naturals.

It reminds me a little – especially the organ – of another NOLA funker from the same era, Larry Foster’s ‘Funky Belly’ on Big Beat.

There’s also a nice fuzzed out guitar solo.

The Electrostats released at least one other 45 on Three Oaks, the extremely laid back ‘Setting The Mood’.<<

Keep the faith

Larry

PS This was posted so long ago that I couldn’t find the original file, so I dug out the 45 and re-recorded it
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 4, 2013 10:59 am

James Young (left), Bobby Patterson (right)

Listen/Download – James Young and the Housewreckers – Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Listen/Download – Bobby Patterson – My Thing Is Your Thing

Greetings all.

The next couple of weeks will be jam packed with events here at Funky16Corners central, so I’ll be republishing some of my favorite tunes from the Funky16Corners Archives. I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back soon.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio!

Larry

Originally posted 03/17/2006

>>At last, it’s Friday.

I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s St Patrick’s Day, and as an American of Irish descent I’m proud to say that I will once again refrain from participating in the huge, pulsing public nuisance that has come to mark this holiday.

I’ve been to Ireland, and it’s a lovely place, filled with equally lovely people.

It in no way resembles the St Paddy’s day crowd at TJ McDrunken-fucks, spilling green vomit on each others shoes while U2 plays in the background.

Do yourself a favor. Grab a corned beef sandwich (a wonderful reflection of the Irish/Jewish concord in my own marriage), a bottle of Guinness (or Harp, or Smithwicks, or the delicious hard cider of your choice), rent a copy of ‘The Commitments’ and realize that the Irish really do have soul (literal and figurative).

It’s also the good ole end of the week, which of course signifies that we have two days of leisure before us in which to catch up on lost sleep, family time, old movies, reading or whatever it is you like to do to relax.

A hearty HUZZAH to the inventor of the weekend! In celebration of this time honored institution, it’s time to whip out – as I am prone to do – a couple of bangers worthy of a celebratory Friday.

Today’s selection both hail from the once great state of Texas, now home to all manner of insane, Bible-banging, creationist shit-heels.

I know that there are still plenty of good folk in the Lone Star state, but really folks, it’s time to either get the crackpots under control or move to higher (philosophical) ground.

That said, no amount of religious hysteria can mask the fact that Texas has produced a very impressive musical lineage, running from the days of the territory bands, western swing, a grip of wailing “Texas Tenors” (running from Arnett Cobb, to Illinois Jacquet, to the mighty Booker Ervin), blues giants like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lightnin’ Hopkins, right up to giants like Sir Doug Sahm and the 13th Floor Elevators.

On the soul side of things, you can’t do better than Bobby Patterson and James Young & The Housewreckers.

My first encounter with the music of Bobby Patterson was back in my early 80’s college days and heard the Fabulous Thunderbirds cover ‘How Do You Spell Love’.

I didn’t know it was a Bobby Patterson tune for years, but when I found out, and started digging for more I realized that ‘How Do You Spell Love’ was only the tip of the iceberg.

A few years ago, when someone (I don’t recall who) hepped me to ‘My Thing Is Your Thing’, I was blown away. After a few moments of chimp-like marvelling at the clear yellow vinyl, I managed to get the disc on the turntable, and things really started smoking.

Opening with a wobbly, phlanged sounding guitar, the horn section punches its way into the tune and gets the ball rolling.

Bobby drops in with a wailing vocal, dropping funky “UHNN”s here and there, right up into the anthemic chorus. The wah-wah guitar, and snapping drums move things along nicely, making ‘My Thing Is Your Thing’ a hot slice of Dallas funk.

While Bobby was steaming things up on the Jetstar label, James Young & The House Wreckers were, uh, wrecking the house on it’s sister label (both Huey P Meaux related) Jetstream.

Originally known as “Big Sambo” & The House Wreckers (there are pressings of ‘Barking…’ that list him as ‘Big Sambo’), the band originally came to prominence with the original version of ‘The Rains Came’, later a hit for the Sir Douglas Quintet.

This later 45 is a funk classic.

Featuring Young’s screaming sax and wild vocals, the drummer is in the pocket, and the guitar is bluesy.

A very tasty groove indeed.

If you happen upon a copy (not cheap, mind you), flip it over to hear the band rip off Jean Knight’s ‘Mr. Big Stuff’ with an instrumental version entitled ‘Funky Butt’.<<

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 2, 2013 11:14 am

The Mirettes

Listen/Download Nate Turner and the Mirettes – Sweet Soul Sister

Greetings all

The tune I bring you today is something very cool I picked up at a garage sale a few years back.

I have no idea why I haven’t featured it here before, other than it got lost in the shuffle.

‘Sweet Soul Sister’, co-written by Quincy Jones and performed by Nate Turner and the Mirettes appeared (as did its b-side ‘Rap Run It On Down) on the soundtrack to a 1969 Sidney Poitier movie called ‘The Lost Man’.

I haven’t been able to track down any information about Nate Turner (I’m pretty sure it’s not the Chicago-based blues musician) but the Mirettes are in fact THE Mirettes, featuring Vanetta Fields on lead vocals, who recorded a number of excellent records for labels like Mirwood, Revue and Uni. I’ve featured their epic reading of ‘Take Me For a Little While’ here at Funky16Corners a few years ago.

The Mirettes – all former Ikettes (it seems like every other female soul singer of a certain vintage did some time with Ike and Tina) – had a Top 20 R&B hit with their version of ‘In the Midnight Hour’, just skimming the outer reaches of the Pop Top 40, in 1968.

‘Sweet Soul Sister’ is a slow, sexy groove, with Turner taking the lead vocal and the Mirettes working the background.

The song features a cool, repeated guitar riff, subtle organ and horns. It was arranged and produced by  Jones.

I have yet to track down and watch ‘The Lost Man’, but if any of you have seen it, and remember how the songs feature in the film, leave me a note in the comments.

I hope you dig the tune, 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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 27, 2013 12:01 pm

Shuggie Otis, Delmar Evans, Johnny Otis

Listen/Download – The Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl

Greetings all.

The next couple of weeks will be jam packed with events here at Funky16Corners central, so I’ll be republishing some of my favorite tunes from the Funky16Corners Archives. I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back soon.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio!

Larry

Originally Posted 12/08/2009

>>Greetings all.

I hope the middle of he week finds you well.

It finds me cold (what the hell?!?) but happy, since I hit the Allentown record show this past Sunday and grabbed some heat of the 45RPM variety. Bagged me some funk, Northern Soul and other good stuff, all of which will be appearing in this space, as is the custom here in the Funky16Corners organization.

I’m also hard at work on a couple of new mixes for the Funky16Corners Radio thang.

The tune I bring you today is a funky, crunchy, and greasy like a truckload of sizzling bacon. If’n you’re not already hip to the sounds of the might Johnny Otis (and his many compadres) may I suggest you read up on your read ups, since he was involved in some of the finest R&B, soul and funk to come out of the West Coast for the last half a century. On his own, with his son – the legendary Shuggie, of course – and working with folks like Preston Love, Johnny Otis really knew his shit (as the kids say).

Today’s selection is of a 1969 vintage, and like the equally awesome ‘Watts Breakaway’ (featured here three years back) it is a cooperative effort between Johnny, Shuggie and Delmar ‘Mighty Mouth ‘ Evans. ‘Country Girl’ is easily identifiable as part of the ‘Tramp continuum’, started by Mr. Lowell Fulsom, and carried on through Otis and Carla, Brian and Jools, the Mohawks and countless others.

The tune features vocals interplay between Johnny and Delmar (and booming guitar courtesy of Shuggie) in which they rhapsodize about the outstanding physical attributes of the titular woman (“great big ole healthy country girl”). As songs written in tribute to big butts, ‘Country Girl’ is the ne plus ultra (apologies to Sir Mix-A-Lot).

It’s easy to get lost inside a groove this heavy, but make sure to pay attention to the lyrics, especially the warning that ‘You can take foxes out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of foxes’.

Bing, bang, and of course, boom.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back to close out the week with something tasty.<<

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.