Comments (2)

By Larry, June 25, 2013 11:21 am

Art Neville

Listen/Download Art Neville – Bo Diddley Pt1

Greetings all

I hope the day finds you well.

The tune I bring you today is a storming bit of funky, Crescent City soul from one of that burgs leading lights.

Art Neville has been waxing groovy music for almost 60 years (?!?), starting with the Hawketts ‘Mardi Gras Mambo’ in 1954, recording a number of solo singles for a variety of New Orleans labels (Specialty, Instant, Cinderella and Sansu) before co-founding the mighty Meters.

Though he found himself behind the keys in the Meters, he was no slouch in the vocal department. His excellent Eddie Bo written/produced ‘Hook Line and Sinker’ from 1966 is a lost classic, as is the tune I bring you today.

Neville recorded two 45s for Sansu, both in 1968, right near the end of that label’s first incarnation.

The tune I bring you today was the first of those, his raucous reworking of Bo Diddley’s epic, 1955 debut, ‘Bo Diddley’.

Interestingly enough, Art dispenses with the standard Bo Diddley beat (it’s in there, sort of, but sped way up). Backed by the guys that would shortly become the Meters, he rips through the tune, skirting the edges of funk like a Second Line on fast-forward.

The arrangement is credited to Allen Toussaint. As wild as this 45 is, considering the flights of rhythmic imagination the Meters would soon embark on, they (especially Zig) almost seem restrained.

Nevilles follow up 45 (and his last for Sansu) has an even more traditional bent, with a cover of Raymond Lewis’s old-school NOLA classic ‘I’m Gonna Put Some Hurt On You’.

It is a groovy 45, and especially interesting considering that the Meters would blast off a year later.

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.
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 (2)

By Larry, June 20, 2013 11:46 am

Little Ann

Listen/Download Little Ann – Going Down a One Way Street (The Wrong Way)

Greetings all

The end of the week is once again breathing its hot Frankenstein breath down the back of our necks, so that means it’s time for the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We come to you every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original viny. If you can’t check the show out at airtime, do not fret. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab yourself an MP3 of this (or any of well over 100 previous episodes) at the blog.

I should also note that over the next few weeks a deluge of events/commitments will keep me quite busy so you should expect a number of ‘Best of Funky16Corners’ posts from the archives. I dug out some very cool stuff, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for that.

The tune I bring you today is a longtime fave of mine.

I am a huge fan of soul, as well as funk, but have an especially warm place in my heart for the records on which the two styles intersect well.

Today’s selection is one of those.

Little Ann, born Anne Bridgeforth in Chicago in 1945, recorded a number of unreleased tracks for Dave Hamilton (issued by the Timmion label in 2009) before having ‘Going Down a One Way Street (the Wrong Way)’ picked up and released by Ed Wingate’s Ric-Tic imprint.

The record is an incredible slice of funky soul, with a soaring vocal by Little Ann, and a booming, horn-heavy arrangement.

Oddly, this was the only 45 released in the US by Little Ann (she didn’t even get the b-side, that spot taken up by an instrumental called ‘I’d Like To Know You Better’, credited to Wingate).

She went to to record some for the Quality label in Canada, and was later rediscovered by the Northern Soul scene in the UK before passing away in 2003.

You can check out her other recordings on various comps (the ‘Dave Hamilton’s Detroit Dancers’ collections) and if you try hard enough you can still find the Timmion LP here and there.

This is a very groovy song indeed, and I hope you dig it.

See you on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
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, June 13, 2013 12:36 pm

Willie “Little Beaver” Hale

Listen/Download Little Beaver – Party Down Pt1

Greetings all

The end of the week has arrived, and so has the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which comes to you this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’tbe there to hear it, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is just about three and a quarter minutes of perfection, custom made for a weekend night in the summertime.

Willie ‘Little Beaver’ Hale was an Arkansas-born singer/guitarist who laid down some of the finest grooves of the Miami scene in the 1970s.

In addition to his own records, he also played guitar for other TK/Glades/Cat artists like Betty Wright (that’s him on ‘Clean Up Woman’) and George McCrae.

He had recorded 45s for labels like Saadia and Phil-La of Soul before having his first hit (‘Joey’) with Cat in 1972.

‘Party Down’ was a #2 R&B hit in the summer of 1974. It features Little Beaver working it out on the guitar, laying down a mellow, late night, cognac groove, working in a little scat here and there while his friends make a little noise in the background.

Little Beaver waxed more than a dozen 45s and four albums for Cat in the 70s before going into retirement for years, only to reemerge in 2003 to play on Joss Stone’s ‘Soul Sessions’ album.

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

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.

Comments (2)

By Larry, June 2, 2013 1:32 pm

Gladys Knight and the Pips

Listen/Download Gladys Knight and the Pips – The Nitty Gritty

Greetings all

Before we get things rolling I wanted to extend a hearty ‘thank you’ to all of you who  made the 2013 Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive a big success this year.

The contributions – whether they be mixes to fuel the Allnighter or donations to keep this machine rolling for another year – were all greatly appreciated.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, Funky16Corners will enter its tenth year of existence in 2013, a fact which boggles my mind as much as it does any of yours.

I was having a Facebook exchange with some friends the other day, in which I stated that even at the ripe old age of 50, I am still engaged in a constant search for new (to me) music. There is still so much out there that I haven’t heard, and thanks to amazing friends that are always turning me on to new sounds, and my own relentless digging, I keep ingesting it as quickly as I can manage, and relating the search, and the appreciation to all of you, here in this space.

It is a labor of love, writ large.

So once again, I say thanks, and Keep the Faith.

Larry

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PS If you just found out about all this, you can still click here to donate to Funky16Corners!

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I don’t know about you guys, but I need a little musical kick in the pants to get me going today.

Who better to provide it than the mighty Gladys Knight?

I have always been of the opinion that despite popular opinion to the contrary, it is Gladys Knight who was the greatest female voice in the Motown stable.

Knight was possessed of a singularly powerful, flexible voice that allowed her to kick ass no matter what kind of stuff she was laying down, from sensitive ballads, powerful dance floor soul or straightahead funk.

The tune I bring you today was a big hit for Gladys and the Pips in the summer of 1969, hitting #2 on the R&B charts and making it into the Pop Top 20.

‘The Nitty Gritty’, written by Lincoln Chase and originally a hit for his wife Shirley Ellis in 1963, and was covered many times (Ricardo Ray’s boogaloo take is especially tasty) over the years.

I first heard the Gladys Knight and the Pips version years ago on an old UK Tamla greatest hits, which exposed me to a number of fantastic tracks that I had never heard before.

The group was huge on the radio when I was a kid but their earlier output, with killers like ‘JustWalk In My Shoes’ and ‘You Need Love Like I Do’ was largely new to me.

‘Nitty Gritty’ is a tour de force Norman Whitfield production, driven by some supremely funky guitar (the highest instrument in the mix), mixed percussion (the congas and tambourine in the front) and of course an explosive vocal by Gladys.

There was already a rhythmic component in the lyrics, which Gladys takes to an entirely new level, and abetted by the mighty Pips, with the “BOOM BOOM BOOM”s and what not make this a 45 to be reckoned with.

I hope you dig it 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.
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 (10)

By Larry, May 26, 2013 1:01 pm

Greetings all.

Welcome to the 2013 Funky16Corners Allnighter and Pledge Drive.

Those of you that fall by F16C on the reg will already be familiar with our yearly do, in which I ask some of the finest selectors I know to dip into their crates and put together mixes (from a wide variety of styles, but always soulful) for your listening pleasure.

This being the interwebs, with the selectors coming to you from points all over the map (NJ, New Zealand, NY, UK, Ohio, Minnesota), and all of you good people spread even further afield, we get together for this virtual “Allnighter” (in the tradition of the great soul clubs the world over) once a year.

There are two basic reasons for this, both equally important.

First and foremost, we try to raise some dough (via Paypal donation, see links below) to fund the server costs associated with keeping Funky16Corners (and Iron Leg) up and running. This includes the regular, thrice-weekly blog posts, as well as the Podcast, Soul Club, Guest Mix and Radio Show Archives (collectively holding well over 200 mixes of all kinds).

Second, is of course the fact that music – to paraphrase Willie the Shake – is the food of life, and so we assemble here to play on.

Blogging is for many – creators and readers alike – a transitory thing, but for the selectors here, and for many of the people that stop by here on a regular basis, music, especially soul, funk and jazz is life. These are no mere “collectors’. The mix-makers that you see here (and in all the previous years) have devoted a tremendous amount of time (not to mention,resources) to studying the sounds you will soon hear pouring out of your speakers.

Just the other day I saw someone bemoaning the overuse of the word “curating”, but I assure you that it applies to the work of every one of the people involved in this enterprise.

We all collect these sounds because we love them, but we have also all spent time sharing them, on blogs, and more importantly in live venues because we want to spread the word.

When I approach my fellow DJs to put together mixes for the Allnighter, I do so with complete confidence that they will select to impress, and impress they have.

What you here is roughly eight-and-a-half hours (in nine mixes) of the finest in funk, soul, latin, rocksteady, blues, disco, and Northern, put together by some of the best in the biz.

Funky16Corners is – and always has been – a not-for-profit enterprise. I have never taken ads here at the site and hopefully never will.

What I ask, is that if you dig what we do here, and you have the resources to do so, please throw a couple of bucks our way to keep the machine running for another year.

Everyone that donates five dollars or more will receive a Funky16Corners 2013 Allnighter Badge, F16C sticker, and one of our Keep Calm and Stay Funky stickers as well.

The Funky16Corners Blog will enter its 10th year of existence this year and though I’d probably still be at it if no one was paying attention, it’s much cooler doing it for folks like you!

So, I’ll offer you my thanks once again, and hopefully we’ll all be together again this time next year for more of the same.

Keep the Faith
Larry

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Click here to donate to Funky16Corners!

NOTE: It has been brought to my attention that the donation button has been experiencing technical difficulties. If you can’t get it to work, you can always log into Paypal and send the money to this address:

funky16corners@lycos.com

Thanks

Larry

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The Soul City – Everybody Dance Now (Goodtime)
Ross D Wyllie – Do the Uptight (A&M)
Popular Five – Little Bitty Pretty One (Minit)
Chuck Jackson and Maxine Brown – Can’t Let You Out of My Sight (Wand)
The Naked Truth – The Shingaling Thing (RCA)
Brenda Lee – Time and Time Again (Decca)
Derek Martin – Sly Girl (Tuba)
Shirelles – No Doubt About It (Scepter)
Robert Walker and the Soul Strings – The Blizzard (RCA)
The Trends – The Soul Clap (ABC)
The Tempests – Would You Believe (Smash)
Robert John – Raindrops, Love and Sunshine (A&M)
Kim Weston – Helpless (Gordy)
Earl Cosby – Ooh Honey Baby (Mirwood)
Four Pennies – You’re a Gas With Your Trash (Brunswick)
Ray Charles – I Don’t Need No Doctor (ABC)
Jo Armstead – I Feel an Urge (Giant)
Soul Sisters – Good Time Tonight (Sue)
OV Wright – Baby Mine (Goldwax)
The Velvelettes – He Was Really Saying Something (VIP)
Ronnie Love – Chills and Fever (Dot)
Little Caesar and the Empires – Everybody Dance Now (Inst) (Cameo/Parkway)

‘Everybody Dance Now’ is just under an hour of top shelf, hard charging Northern Soul, including some old faves as well as a grip of recently excavated heat that I think you’ll dig (and a couple of surprises too!).

Listen/Download Funky16Corners – Everybody Dance Now!
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Tony C: Feeling Good F16C Pledge drive 2013
Jean Dushon-Feeling good-Cadet
Merced Blue Notes-Whole lotta nothing-Tri Phi
Junior Wells-I’m gonna cramp your style-Bright Star
The Marvels-Forget about that mess-Sensation
Buddy Ace-Baby please don’t go-Duke
Buddy Greco-Twistin’ to the blues-Coronet
JJ Barnes-Won’t you let me in-Rich
The Charmaines-I idolise you-Kent
Joe Simon-Troubles-Hush
The Young Holt Trio-Ain’t there something that money can’t buy-Brunswick
Sonny Raye-Whip it on me-Jetstream
Pearl Woods-Sippin’ sorrow-Charge
BB King-16 tons-Crown
Ricardo Ray-Nitty Gritty-Alegre
Jack Constanzo-Evil ways-Discomoda
Willie Bobo-Be’s that way-Tico
Charlie Palmieri-Uptight-Atlantic
Tito Ramos-Big T-Cotique
The Beginning Of The End-Come down baby-Alston
The Soul Creations-Funky jive-GES
Tommy Wills-KC drive-Juke
Spanky Wilson-You-Mothers
Big Ella-It takes a lot of loving-Lo Lo
Eddie Parker-I need a true love-Triple ‘B’ Records

Tony Crampton is a UK based DJ/Collector whose mixes should be immediately familiar to readers of Funky16Corners. He has excellent taste, and gets frequent shout-outs here at F16C for records that he first put me onto.

Listen/Download Tony C: Feeling Good
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Kris Holmes – Greenville and Beyond

Slim Willis – I Say That
Little Eddie – There’ll Be A Day
Virgil Griffin – If You Can’t Go
The Trademarques – I Can Set You Free
Chick Willis – My Bowlegged Woman
Heavenly Kings Singers – If You Wake Up In The Morning
Vikki Styles – Mark My Words
The Premiers – Funky Monkey
The Perails – Boss Walk
The Cherries – You Know You Gonna Need Me
Vicki Williams – Your Love Makes Me Stay
L. Johnson Jr. – You Gotta Have Soul
W. Williams & Sonny Wash – Don’t Lie To Me Lover
Spencer Jackson Family – Bring Back Peace To The World
Johnny Littlejohn – Can’t Be Still
Johnny Nix – Matchbox
Pops Porter – Baby Put Your Legs Upside The Wall
Willie Buck – Get Down & Disco To The Blues
Bobby Williams – Soul Party
Ervin Little – Teach Me How To Boogaloo

Kris Holmes ‘Greenville and Beyond’ mix is an extension of the website he created to track the wide variety of records associated with several Greenville, Mississippi labels and their Chicago connections. Kris is one of the premier DJ/Collectors in New Zealand, rocking it in live venues and on his show the Sunday Shuffle on Radio Ponsonby (which can be heard Saturday nights here in the US). He has exquisite taste, and has been a big influence on new additions to the crates here at Funky16Corners.

Listen/Download Kris Holmes – Greenville and Beyond
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Reaching Onward – A FleamarketFunk.com All 45 Excursion
Studio G’s Beat Group – Hi Bird/ Licorice Soul
Quantic and His Combo Barbaro – Enyere Kumbara/ Tru Thoughts
Lonnie liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes – Goddess of Love/ Flying Dutchman
Big Pimp Jones – The Smokeout/ Recordbreakin’
Hard Proof – Dragon/ Kept Records
The Jive Turkeys – No Answer/ Colemine
Yambu – Sunny/ Motuno
The T.M.G.’s – Agravation/ Funk 45
The DT6 – Don’t Doubt Me/ Starla
East L.A. Carpool – Linda Chicana/ GRC
Victor Green – The Ghetto/ Rejoint
Sir Ali Bengal – ABX (Instrumental)/ Our Label Records
Banda União Black – Yeah Yeah Yeah/ Vampi Soul

A Word from DJ Prestige

“Once again I’m honored to put together a guest mix for Larry at Funky 16 Corners. Today I’ve dug into my collection of 45s and pulled out a bunch of sides that I built around the intro from Sun-Ra. For the most part, these 45s represent a lot of the future of Funk, Soul, and who will be carrying on the torch of funky music in general in the years to come playing right along side a few older tracks that lend themselves nicely to this mix. Record labels like Colemine, who offer up The Jive Turkeys, Kept, who give us the Afro Beat of Hard Proof out of Austin, TX, The DT6 on Starla coming out of Scotland, Big Pimp Jones from Philly on Recordbreakin’, Our Records Label and Sir Ali Bengal out of Germany, and Quantic out of the UK represent a small amount of artists doing it like they did in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Some of these limited edition 7″s will be the sought after 45s in years to come. They’re recorded in the same manner as the originators, and each band lends it unique sound to the time line of music. I’ve also included some older sides such as Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes, a Disco Soul cover of “Sunny” by Yambu, a Latin influenced Donnie Hathaway cover from Victor Green, some Psychedelic Library Hammond Funk from Studio G’s Beat Group, as well as some West Coast Lowrider Soul with East L.A. Carpool. Each one of these bands, no matter if it the present day or the past has been reaching outward to put out good music, and that’s what I want to do with this mix. Please enjoy. DJ Prestige, Flea Market Funk 2013″

Listen/Download DJ Prestige: Reaching Onward
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Tarik Thornton: TCB
James Black and the Southern University Stage Band- Ole Wine ( Intro)- Whit
Oliver Morgan- Roll Call- Seven B
Gene Chandler- Soul Hootenany Part 1- Constellation
Temptations- Girl, Why You Wanna Make Me Blue- Gordy
Little Eva- Get Ready/Uptight- Spring
Seven Souls – I Still Love You- Okeh
Natural Four-I Thought you Were Mine – ABC
Claude Huey- Drifting – M.I.O.B
Richard Brown- Sweet & Kind- SteeleTown
Gino Washington- What Can A Man Do- Washpan
Charles Brimmer- This Feeling in My Heart- Broadmoor
The Pearls – Shooting High- Lamp
The Symphonic Four- Who Do You Think Your Fooling Part II- Sudan
Bob & Gene- It’s Not What You Know It’s Who You Know
Aaron Neville- Hercules- Mercury
Willie Joe – Funny Thing- Pure Black Soul
Detroit Emeralds- You’re Getting Too Smart- Westbound
Eddie Floyd- Stealing Love- Stax
The 13th Amendment – The Stretch – Slave
James Brown – I’ll Go Crazy – King

Tarik Thornton is a New Orleans native who has relocated to the Midwest. He has worked as part of a number of top DJ crews, and guested at some of the hottest nights around the country. He is always digging, and never fails to bring the heat.

Listen/Download Tarik Thornton – TCB
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Prime Mundo: Positive/Negative – A Live Mixtape
alzo & udine – c’mon and join us (mercury)
jim ford – i wanta make her love me (sundown)
truth – i can’t go on (roulette)
southside movement – i’ve been watching you (20th century)
stevie wonder – i was made to love her (tamla)
trapeze – what is a woman’s role (threshold)
bo diddley – go for broke (chess)
yardbirds – baby what’s wrong (sire)
fiesta dance party – summertime (fiesta)
jesse morrison – tell me, can you feel it (a-bet)
edwin starr – easin’ in (motown)
charles spurling – popcorn charlie (king)
the watts 103rd street rhythm band – 65 bars and a taste of soul (warner bros)
gilberto sextet – yes i will part 1 (tico)
albert collins – thaw out (blue thumb)
jerry maccain – juicy lucy (jewel)
charlie earland – sing a simple song (prestige)
aluar horns (nonesuch)
mongo santamaria – fingers (vaya)

DJ Prime Mundo is one of the OG Asbury Park 45 Sessions crew. He’s got a spectacular ear for the finest in funk, soul and jazz his turntable skills are next level. No matter how much you think you know, you will always find  something new to dig in his mixes.

Listen/Download DJ Prime Mundo – Positive/Negative
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DJ Bluewater Presents: Turn To This Sound
The Vibrators – I’m Depending On You
Alton Ellis – The Preacher
Roland Alphonso – How Soon
The Fugitives – Cantelope Rock
The Maytals – Bim Today Bam Tomorrow
Roy Shirley – The Prophet
Prince Buster’s All Stars – All In My Mind
The Gaylads – Joy In The Morning
The Uniques – My Woman’s Love
The Modifies – Death In The Arena
Slim Smith – Burning Desire
Glen Adams – Mighty Organ
The Dee Set – I Know A Place
Max Romeo – She’s But A Little Girl
Roy Shirley – Don’t Be Afraid
The Gladiators – Fling It Gimme
Sound Dimension – More Scorcher
Tony Brevett – Don’t Get Weary
The Ethiopians – Selah
The Rulers – Let My People Go
Lee Perry – Whup Whop Man
Teddy King & Prince Buster – Mexican Divorce
Derrick Morgan – Too Bad
The Soul Brothers – Windell
Ken Boothe & Norma Frazer – Give Me The Right

DJ Bluewater is another member of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions crew. He is as deep into the rocksteady 45 game as he is with funk and soul. He has been contributing mixes to the Funky16Corners Pledge Drives since the beginning.

Listen/Download DJ Bluewater – Turn To This Sound

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Funkdefy: Take Time To Know Her
Roy “C” – I Found-A-Man In My Bed – Pan Records
The Esquires – Listen To Me – Bunky Records
Tony Fox – Do It To It – Calla Records
The Soul Sisters – Think About The Good Times – Sue Records
Bobby Lewis – Tossin’ and Turnin’ – Beltone
Charles Spurling – Popcorn Charlie – King
William Alexander, Jr. and the Dukes – Give Me One More Chance – Aphrodisiac
Mary Jane Hooper – That’s How Strong Love Is – World Pacific Audition Records
Harvey Scales – What’s Good For You (Don’t Have to be Good to You) – Stax Records
Jay Dee Bryant – Get It (Come On and Get It) – Enjoy Records
Johnnie Taylor – Take Care Of Your Homework – Stax
J. J. Jackson – But It’s Alright – Calla Records
Otis Redding – Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (Live) – ATCO Records
Tony Clarke – Ghetto Man – Chicory Records
Don Gardner – My Baby Likes To Boogaloo – Tru-Glo-Town
Dyke And The Blazers – Funky Bull Pt. 1 – Original Sound
George Torrence & The Naturals – Lickin’ Stick – Shout
Billy Stewart – Summertime – Chess
Percy Sledge – Take Time To Know Her – Atlantic

A Word from DJ RP

FUNKDEFY, located in Columbus Ohio, is the longest running Funk-N-Soul dance party of Central Ohio. Founded in 2004, the Crew is an ensemble group of crate diggers and beat battlers. Not only have they been throwing monthly all vinyl dance parties, but in years past introduced live Soul to Columbus, heating up the city with their combination of dance parties on wax mixed with some incredible live bands, including The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker, The Budos Band and Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves. The following contribution was put together by founder DJ RP for your audio pleasure. You can hear other mixes of theirs on Soundcloud and see updates about them on Facebook. The crew hopes you will become part of, and a friend of, the funky collective.

Listen/Download Funkdefy – Take Time To Know Her
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F16C Presents: Are You Ready For This
Jackson Sisters – I Believe In Miracles (Prophecy)
Brothers – Are You Ready For This (RCA)
Papa John Creach – Joyce (Tom Moulton Mix) (Buddah)
Johnny Hammond Smith – Los Conquistadores Chocolates (Milestone)
Eddie Kendricks – Going Up In Smoke (Tamla)
Muscle Shoals Horns – Breakdown (Bang)
Charles Mann – Do It Again (ABC)
Touch – Love Hangover (Breaking Down) (Brunswick)
Lyn Collins – Rock Me Again & Again & Again & Again & Again & Again (People)
JBs – All Aboard the Funky Soul Train (Polydor)
Silvetti – Spring Rain (Salsoul)
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes – Bad Luck (Tom Moulton Remix) (Philadelphia International)
Ray Charles – Compared to What (Atlantic)

‘Are You Ready For This’ includes all manner of funky disco, disco-y funk, and even a couple of similarly inclined tunes from the Northern Soul canon. Mostly 45s, a couple of 12’s and an LP track here and there.

Listen/Download Funky16Corners – Are You Ready For This?
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Click Here To Donate to Funky16Corners

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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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, May 16, 2013 11:05 am

Vic Waters (center, dig the spats) and the Entertainers

Listen/Download Vic Waters and the Entertainers – I’m White – I’m Alright

Greetings all

The end of the week approaches and so does the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which comes to you this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always catch up by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or by grabbing an MP3 out of the archive here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today first came to my attention when a couple of people started discussing it on an internet message board ( a pursuit that makes up a solid percentage of all internet content).

The record in question ‘I’m White – I’m Alright’ by Vic Waters and the Entertainers was seen by some (apparently people that didn’t actually listen to the record) as a misguided, racist rant. The other folks, the ones that took the time to get past the title, and with a little bit of perspective under their belt, recognized the tune as an “answer” record of sorts (to JB’s ‘Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud’).

Vic Waters and the Entertainers were a white showband that were pretty big stuff in Tampa Bay, FL during the 60s.

They recorded three 45s with Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham behind the boards, one (a nice cover of the Eddie Floyd composition ‘Taking Inventory’, also recorded by the Ferris Wheel and Danny White) on Capitol proper, and then two more (one of which you see before you today) on Capitol’s Crazy Horse subsidiary.

The Entertainers were not unlike the countless white R&B/soul bands that populated the night clubs, frat houses and various and sundry other dance floors of the American south during the 60s, like the Tempests, the Rubber Band, Bill Deal and the Rhondels and many others.

‘I’m White – I’m Alright’ is indeed funky, and can be best described as “the white brothers can get down too”, which they can and do.

It’s worth the ride to hear Vic deliver lines like :

“I’m light, white and out of sight. I ain’t tan but I can jam.”

Surely, some of this stuff – 45 years on – sounds culturally tone-deaf, but it appears that Vic and the Entertainers had their hearts in the right place.

Would it have been better if he’d said “I’m pale but I can wail” or ‘I may be pink but I’m funkier than you’d think’?

Of course not.

I hope you dig the tune, and have yourselves a great weekend.

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 9, 2013 12:21 pm

Bobby Williams

Listen/Download Bobby Williams – Let’s Jam

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, and so is your weekly helping of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. I come to you every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, spinning the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTune, or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

In other news, the Funky16Corners 2013 Allnighter and Pledge Drive will be arriving at the end of the month. I have many of your old favorites lined up, as well as some very cool new names bringing mixes to the table. I also have a cool premium on the way for folks that donate this year. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for news!

The tune I bring you today is a very groovy, very gritty slab of Florida funk.

Originally released in the US (on the Normar label) as by Bobby Williams and the Mar Kings, what you see before you is the contemporaneous (within a couple of years) release on the UK Contempo-Raries imprint (with the name truncated).

This is the Florida-based Bobby Williams (as in ‘Funky Superfly’) as opposed to the New Orleans-based Bobby Williams (as in ‘Boogaloo Mardi Gras’).

This Bobby Williams laid down a series of excellent 45s through the years for labels like Lu-Pine, Sure Shot, Duplex and R&R, ranging from storming Northern Soul (‘I’ve Only Got Myself To Blame’), blazing funk (‘Funky Superfly’ and today’s selection) to smooth, late night soul (‘You Need Love Like I Do’).

His funky stuff – like most of the ish from the early 70s – is heavily influenced by the mighty Godfather of Soul (Williams’ ‘Let’s Work A While’ is a barely disguised reworking of ‘Give It Up Or Turn It A Loose’), and ‘Let’s Jam’ is no exception.

Though the overall sound isn’t too James Brown-y (especially the instrumental side of things) Bobby’s vocal, and the call and response action (including a tip of the hat to Isaac Hayes) definitely owes a debt to JB.

The bass guitar (BIIIIG BASS!) , wah wah guitar and horns whip up a mighty racket, and Bobby is working very, very hard.

This is one I think you’re gonna want to spin a bunch of times, until you have gotten all the way (not half way) down.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

*The LP version of ‘Love Potion Number 9’ sounds like the same band but the 45 labels I’ve seen don’t provide a credit in that regard
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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, May 7, 2013 10:30 am

The Coasters

Listen/Download The Coasters – Cool Jerk

Greetings all

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well.

The Coasters loom large in the transition from R&B to soul, especially in relation to their work with the mighty Leiber and Stoller.

Their ATCO recordings, stretching from the mid-50s to the mid-60s are unmatchable.

Unfortunately for all concerened, the Coasters had their last taste of chart action in 1964.

The years after they left ATCO were commercially unsuccessful, yet – no surprise here – artistically rewarding.

Though the group bounced between a few different labels (Date, Turntable, King) they continued to work with Leiber and Stoller and their later catalog, though often hard to come by, is quite good.

The tune I bring you today hails from the tail end of the group’s productive years (i.e. making new material as opposed to capitalizing on old ones).

Though I don’t know how they ended up on King, they recorded three 45s and an LP for the label, all released in the early 70s.

The LP contains re-recordings (or possibly remixes) of Date material like ‘D.W. Washburn’, ‘Soul Pad’ and ‘Down Home Girl’ as well as new material.

The tune I bring you today is another cover, but with a very cool twist.

‘Cool Jerk’ first recorded by the Capitols in 1966 is reworked with distinctly Latin touch.

Not only do you get the Leiber and Stoller production, but the arrangement is by Marty Sheller and the orchestra is conducted by none other than Larry Harlow. I’m not sure if it is in fact Orchestra Harlow, but it certainly sounds like it.

The pairing of the Coasters with the boogaloo sound is an inspired one and makes me wish that they’d done more in this vein*. Their King material was released between 1971 and 1973, though it all sounds to me like it was recorded on the earlier end of the time line.

It’s a fantastic dance floor mover, and I hope you dig it.

Keep the faith

Larry

*The LP version of ‘Love Potion Number 9’ sounds like the same band but the 45 labels I’ve seen don’t provide a credit in that regard
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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, April 30, 2013 12:13 pm

Listen/Download Delores Riley – Hey Boy!

Greetings all

Welcome once again to the point where all sixteen corners of the musical universe intersect.

One of the busiest corners therein is located in the great city of New Orleans.

I have certainly made mention in this space before of the ‘high end’ of the Instant Records discography.

Instant, which ran from 1961 to 1972 released records by many of the big names in New Orleans soul and funk, from Chris Kenner (their biggest hitmaker) to Ernie K Doe and Huey ‘Piano’ Smith.

Though the overall quality of their roster was excellent, if you were looking for the funky stuff, you’d want to start browsing up around number 3300 in the catalog.

There are of course exceptions – especially Larry Darnell’s ‘Son of a Son of a Slave’ and Curley Moore’s ‘Sophisticated Sissy’ – but before, though quite groovy, things were mostly soulful.

Once that Rubicon is crossed, all bets are off, processes change to naturals and in comes the funk.

Though I have chased many of these post-3300 sides over the years (and caught a bunch), there are a few that still elude me, as well as a number that I’ve never heard.

One of these – at least until a few years ago – was the record you see before you today, Delores Riley’s ‘Hey Boy!’.
I had never heard the record before when a friend suggested I check it out.

It was a nice, hard-driving funky 45, so I set out find myself a copy, and got one in short order (for not a lot of dough).

I have not been able to find anything out about Riley, or the writer of the song Justin James. I don’t see any evidence that she recorded anything else, for Instant or any other NOLA label.

The one familiar name on the label is that of Earl Stanley, of Earl Stanley and the Stereos, aka Roger and the Gypsies.

The production on ‘Hey Boy’ is pretty tight, with a great horn section, some groovy wah-wah guitar and even a little bit of electric sitar in the mix.

The most distinctive part of the gumbo (aside from Delores’s singing) , is – as is often the case – the drums. Whoever was manning the kit was hitting hard that day.

The style is a little bit rough, but full of verve. I’d love to know who it was.

That said, should it tickle your fancy, you ought to be able to grab yourself a copy of this one to stuff into your crates for well under fifty clams.

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.
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, April 21, 2013 2:58 pm

Vince Montana

Listen/Download The Volcanos – Storm Warning

Listen/Download The Ethics – Think About Tomorrow

Listen/Download Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1

Listen/Download Brothers of Hope – Nickol Nickol

Listen/Download The Family – Family Affair

Listen/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes

Listen/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes (Club Mix)

Greetings all

It was with great sadness that I heard last week of the passing of the mighty Vincent Montana Jr.

Unless you’re a Philly soul or disco head, that name might not be familiar, but the music he helped to make over a career that lasted more than 50 years most certainly is.

Montana, known first and formost as a vibraphonist, but also a busy arranger and percussionist was one of the most important instrumentalists in the history of Philadelphia soul and funk.

Though he got his start backing local artists like Frankie Avalon, Montana went on to be one of the core members of the Philly “house band” that would become better known as MFSB.

His vibes stand out on countless Philly soul records from the mid-60s on, and his arrangers credit appeared on many of those record’s labels.

Montana’s work is all over various and sundry smaller local labels (and recorded under various band names) as well as just about every major Philadelphia International session.

Montana was also key in the formation of the Salsoul Orchestra, and through the disco era recorded with his own groups the Montana Sextet and Goody Goody.

The tracks I’ve selected really just scratch the surface of Montana’s catalog, but all touch on some important point.

The first is one of the greatest 60s soul 45s to come out of Philadelphia, and the first place I ever noticed Vince Montana coming through the mix as a sideman. ‘Storm Warning’ by the Volcanos is beloved by fans of classic soul, and Vince Montana’s vibes have a lot to do with that. Vibes are – at least to my ears – one of the key sonic elements in Northern Soul, along with the baritone sax, and Montana’s playing on ‘Storm Warning’ manages to keep driving the song forward while adding bright accents.

The Ethics are another great Philly vocal group. ‘Think About Tomorrow’, arranged by Montana, was a local hit in 1968. Give this one a couple of close listens and dig how Montana uses the strings, horns and vibes to frame the rhythm section. It’s an exquisite example of the kind of classy record that would come to represent the Philly sound.

Georgie Woods “The Guy With the Goods’ was a Philadelphia radio legend, who decided in the late 60s (like so many of his radio brethren around the country) to dip his toe into the world of recording. ‘Potato Salad’ – also arranged by Vince Montana – is an ‘adaptation’ of vibraphone legend Lionel Hampton’s ‘Greasy Greens’. You not only get to hear Woods laying down his rap, but also plenty of Montana’s vibes working their way through the mix.

The players that would form the core of MFSB would make records under a number of different names in the late 60s and early 70s. If you collect funk 45s, you’ve heard bands like the Interpretations, Hidden Cost, Daley’s Diggers, the Alliance, the Electric Indian and many more, all basically played by the same set of brilliant musicians, including Vince Montana.

My favorite of these pseudonymous 45s is ‘Nickol Nickol’ by the Brothers of Hope. One of the great, mid-tempo funk 45s of all time, ‘Nickol Nickol’ features Montana’s vibes throughout, but especially at the end where he lays down the ‘Eleanor Rigby’ quote in the run-off groove. This one was slept on for a long time, but the price has gone up considerably in the last few years.

The Family – Family Affair, acetate and North Bay 45

Though I’m not featuring any MFSB ‘proper’ in this post, the Family’s cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Family Affair’, which was first released on the North Bay label, is basically an edited version of the track that would appear on the first MFSB LP.

Vince Montana was – for most fo his career – a ‘background’ player, working behind the scenes, but in 1982 he had a dance hit in the US and the UK with the track ‘Heavy Vibes’. ‘Heavy Vibes’ is a sophisticated, jazzy/funky bit of disco, with plenty of vibes (naturally…). Here you get to check out both the edit and the extended club mix – both worth hearing.

Vince Montana was a master, and though he was more involved than most, he was a very solid example of the importance of the unseen/unheralded musicians that provide the backing for the music we love. People will do lip service to the house bands of labels like Stax, ensembles like the Funk Brothers or the Muscle Shoals group, but only the people with their heads (and ears) deep in the game know who the individual components of those outfits were, and that’s a shame.

The next time you hear the vibes ring through one of those great Philly records, elbow the cat next to you and say ‘That’s Vince Montana.’

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 (3)

By Larry, April 16, 2013 11:39 am

The Meters

Listen/Download The Meters – Good Old Funky Music

Greetings all

How about something heavy from the Meters?

Now – and I agree completely – there are those among you that would say that there ain’t nothing un-heavy in the Meters bag, but I would also say that there’s heavy, and then there’s HEAVY, and the tune I bring you today is HEAVY.

Though amongst the world of funk 45 (and other formats, natch) collectors, the Meters are held up as one of the cornerstones of the sound, I think it would be safe to say that a lot of folks take these titans for granted.

On the outside, i.e. among the straights, the chart-riders and such, the Meters were just another instro band, akin to Booker T and the MGs, albeit with less chart success.

To the collectorati, the Meters are a veritable mountain of cheap 45s (and much more expensive LPs) that are encountered on any decent dig.

To those of us who revel in the sound of some of the most rhythmically innovative funk ever made, the Meters stand astride the landscape like giants.

No matter how many times I’m asked “what is the funkiest record ever made” I always find my way back to ‘Cardova’, four and a half minutes of bad-assitude that cuts many a multi-hundred-dollar disc to shreds with ease.

The law firm of Nocentelli, Neville, Porter and Modeliste were the very definition of unfuckwithable, and ‘Good old Funky Music’ is one of my personal favorites in their oeuvre.

Released in 1971 as a non-LP 45, ‘Good Old Funky Music’ sees our friends from New Orleans throwing down on the wah-wah pedal, whilst turning up the funk dial considerably.

‘Good Old Funky Music’ was the last 45 Josie released by the Meters before they moved to Reprise in early 1972.

I would end – as I often do – by hoping that you all dig the record as much as I do, but in this case at least, that ought to be a foregone conclusion.

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.
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 (7)

By Larry, April 14, 2013 10:03 am

Brian Auger (Top left) and the Trinity

Listen/Download Brian Auger and the Trinity – I Wanna Take You Higher

Listen/Download Brian Auger and the Trinity – Listen Here

Greetings all

Welcome to yet another week in which the digital artifacts of the analog age are unearthed and put on display for the edification (and edumacation) of all involved.

If you were following the coming and going hereabouts you will have noted that the Funky16Corners fam vacated for a short time, in which we went in search of rest, relaxation, and in my case, records.

I was very lucky indeed, having been tipped off to an excellent digging spot or two by a friend.

Though I had never visited Pittsburgh before (odd, I know) I was aware that the good people of the region had excellent taste in music, especially where R&B and soul were concerned. I figured that it must follow (and it did) that records of that ilk must be available thereabouts.

The first spot I hit gave up the goods (if only I’d had 10 or 15 more hours, and the cash that would have required), with yours truly exiting the store with a nice fat stack of funk, soul and all kinds of Iron Leg ish (the popsike and what not).

One of the disks I was most pleased to have encountered is the one you see before you today.

I have had the ‘Befour’ LP (1970) by Brian Auger and the Trinity for years, but had no idea that there were any 45s (or the edits there-on) released from the album, which is why finding the 7” with versions of ‘I Wanna Take You Higher’ and ‘Listen Here’ was such a groove.

Auger was in the top rank of UK Hammond wranglers, first in the Steampacket, then alongside the mighty Julie Driscoll , then onward with the Trinity and the Oblivion Express, getting progressively jazz-funkier as he went on.

I dig both his earlier and later stuff, and ‘Befour’ is an excellent example of the latter, as well as being fairly easy to find on the cheap.

The excellent version of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘I Wanna Take You Higher’ runs the same 5:00 on the 45 as on the album, with some excellent organ and guitar.

The version of ‘Listen Here’ is what makes this 45 worth grabbing.

‘Listen Here’, written and originally recorded by the great Eddie Harris is one of the true ‘standards’ of the soul jazz genre, recorded in many ways, by many people and having appeared in this space a time or two over the years.

The LP version of ‘Listen Here’ runs almost nine and a half minutes, substantial portion of which is devoted to a long (way too long) drum solo by Clive Thacker. It’s not that old Clive wasn’t up to the task, but – and I say this as a drummer – the hippie era drum solo was one of the more unfortunate musical traditions, thankfully gone by the wayside.

The 45 edit of the song truncates the percussion breakdown to a tasteful 27 seconds, keeping the forward momentum of the musical enterprise intact, while also giving the drummer his oft requested “some”.

It is a groovy disc indeed, and well worth grabbing should you come across a copy of your own.

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.
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.