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By Larry, January 26, 2012 2:56 pm

Magic Sam

Listen/Download -Magic Sam – I’ll Pay You Back

Greetings all.

Welcome to the end of yet another week at the Les Corners Seize Funkee.

It behooves me to remind you that were you to tune into Viva Radio Friday night at 9PM you would encounter (once again) the Funky16Corners Radio Show, where yours truly whips the funk, soul, jazz and rare groove on the masses via the airwaves of the interwebs. If this is an appointment you are unable to make at the time of broadcast, you can always come by here over the weekend and pick yourselves up an MP3 of same.

This week’s show is especially interesting if you dig the “now” sounds of soul and funk with new stuff from Japan, the good ole US of A, and Australia.

That all said, the tune I bring you today is something out of the blues guys go funky bag.

What’s particularly interesting is that the blues guy in question is the mighty Magic Sam and the funky tune in question is yet another iteration of the thousand-petaled lotus known as ‘It’s Your Thing’.

Magic Sam Maghett was a generation younger than many of the bluesmen that made the trek from Mississippi to Chicago, and his approach to the blues guitar was a new(er) one.

One need only listen to his recordings for labels like Cobra and Delmark to realize that he was on to something new.

Unfortunately, he was felled by a heart attack in 1969 (not long after he recorded this 45) and never really got to build the kind of discography that might have elevated him into a position of prominence.

The tune in question, ‘I’ll Pay You Back’ is something I knew only as an instrumental (‘Sams Funck’) for years until I scored a copy of the 45 and had the opportunity to flip it over.

When I did I was pleasantly surprised not only because of its basic coolness, but also because I finally realized that ‘I’ll Pay You Back’ was in fact a vehicle rebuilt on the Isley Brothers’ ‘It’s Your Thing’ frame.

Along with Archie Bell and the Drells ‘Tighten Up’, ‘It’s Your Thing’ was one of the most imitated and borrowed from songs of the late 60s. It was on the R&B charts for 14 weeks in the Spring of 1969 (4 weeks at Number One).

Magic Sam reprises the song’s title and rhythmic structure, but lays his own guitar style on top of things, and the lo-fi production by Bobby Rush (a master of the soulful blues himself, who is also credited with the writing the song) gives the whole affair a rougher edge, less funky than muddy.

We can only wonder how far Magic Sam might have gone had he not met such a premature end.

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, January 22, 2012 12:58 pm

Miss Etta James

Listen/Download -Etta James – Something’s Got a Hold On Me

Listen/Download -Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In the Basement Pt1

Listen/Download -Etta James – I’m So Glad

Listen/Download -Etta James – Tell Mama

Listen/Download -Etta James – I Got You Babe

Listen/Download -Etta James – I’d Rather Go Blind

Listen/Download -Etta James – I Worship the Ground You Walk On

Listen/Download -Etta James – Out On the Street Again

Listen/Download -Etta James – Groove Me

Greetings all.

I think that it would not be overstating things to say that for fans of the music we call soul, this has been an absolute motherfucker of a week.

First Jimmy Castor, then Johnny Otis, and then on Friday we got the news that the mighty Etta James had gone to her great reward.

Goddamn…

I mean, as we have discussed previously, we are in the midst of an era when these sad events will be coming with increasing frequency, but the inevitability of age doesn’t make these losses any easier to take.

Etta James was as bad-ass as they came.

When you talk about serious, heavy, real performers, they seldom got any realer than Etta James.

She came out of R&B, walked straight on into soul and funk, all the while packing one of the most powerful, emotional voices ever heard.

And that voice carried with it the seasoning of a hard life.

Born Jamesetta Hawkins  in Los Angeles in 1938, she first recorded (discovered by none other than Johnny Otis) in 1954 and hit the top of the charts in 1955 with ‘The Wallflower’ (aka Dance With Me Henry) in 1955.

She remained on the charts, both R&B and Pop, through the 50s, 60s and 70s, wrestling on and off with heroin addiction, yet still making some remarkably powerful records.

James recorded for Modern through the 50s, moving to the Chess organization (recording for Chess, Argo and Cadet) where she remained from 1960 to 1976.

The records she made during this period were some of the best soul of the era.

The songs I’m posting today while not by any means comprehensive, represent what I would consider to be her finest work*.

Starting with the epic ‘Something’s Got a Hold On Me’ from 1962 (I love pulling out a record that’s as old as I am…), you get Etta reaching back to her teenage, gospel roots, gathering some R&B on the way and whipping it all up into a solid blast of soul. The record is a great sampler of her vocal range, from her rich contralto right on through to her piercing growl.

Her epic duet with Sugar Pie DeSanto, ‘In the Basement’ has appeared in this space before, but to attempt to pay appropriate tribute to Etta without including it would be the work of a fool. Not only is one of the truly great soul sides of the 60s – by anyone – but you get to hear two monumental divas trading lines.

Another cut from 1966 (coming from the period right before she headed down to Muscle Shoals) ‘I’m So Glad’ sees James working a slightly different groove. While the vocal is classic, mid-period Etta, the instrumental backing – arranged by Monk Higgins – is pure Chitown soul.

Leonard Chess’ decision to send James down to Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama was without a doubt one of the smartest things he ever did.

If ever a voice existed that sounded purpose-made for the backing of the legendary Fame house band, it belonged to Etta James.

James recorded just under two dozen sides (almost all released) at Muscle Shoals, and they represent not only a high point in her discography, but also in the long stream of genius that emitted from those hallowed halls during the 60s and 70s.

The best known of her Fame-era tracks is undoubtedly 1967’s‘Tell Mama’, which hit the R&B Top 10 and grazed the Pop Top 20. The tune is hard-charging Southern soul with a supremely confident vocal by James and a horn chart that is in itself a soulful bit of genius. It puts the well-known cover by Janis Joplin to shame.

It was only last year, courtesy of my man Vincent the Soul Chef that I was exposed to James’ insanely good cover of Sonny and Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe’. Never in a million years would I have imagined anyone, even a master like Etta James, taking a hippy-dippy pop confection and turning it into hard hitting proto-funk, but that’s exactly what she did.

Interestingly enough, both of the previously mentioned 45s had powerful ballads on the flip side.

‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ (the flip of ‘Tell Mama’) is widely regarded as one of James’ finest recordings, and for good reason. It’s one of those deep, bluesy soul ballads that sounds less like a performance than a late-night confession.

‘I Worship the Ground You Walk On’ (the flip of ‘I Got You Babe’) is cut from the same cloth, if a little less raw. It features a great change-up in the chorus as well.

By the 1970s, James was still with Chess/Cadet, but her sound was evolving. Her 1974 album ‘Come a Little Closer’ was reportedly recorded concurrent with a stint in rehab, and while her voice seems a touch deeper, dare I say smoother (though not to a fault), the power is still there. The track ‘Out On the Street Again’ is particularly interesting, with a a dark, smoky early-70s Motown feel (a la Norman Whitfield) feel to it.

The latest track I bring you today comes from her 1976 LP “Etta and Betta than Evah’. Produced by none other than the great Mike Terry, the album definitely has a 70s feel to it (some era-appropriate synth/clavinet action), but her cover of King Floyd’s ‘Groove Me’ is classic, funky Etta.

The album was her last for Chess, after which she moved to Warner Brothers.

What she left behind after a decade and a half is a veritable mountain of high quality soul music.

Despite her personal struggles, first with drugs and later with failing health Etta James remained an icon continuing to record and perform almost to the end, releasing her final album last year.

What you need to do next – assuming you already haven’t – is get out there and start digging for some Etta James records. There are plenty of them, and aside from a couple of heavily sweated 45s, they shouldn’t cost you all that much, and no matter what they cost, it’s worth it to add so much musical gravitas to your crates.

I hope you dig the sounds.

See you later in the week.

Peace

Larry

*Though I’m not posting her 1961 hit ‘At Last’ it holds a very special place in my heart. It was the first song my wife and I danced to at our wedding.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, January 20, 2012 2:32 pm

A Younger Johnny Otis

Shuggie, Delmar and Johnny doing the Watts Breakaway

Johnny Otis in later years

Listen/Download -Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl

Listen/Download -Johnny Otis Show – Watts Breakaway

Listen/Download -Preston Love – Cool Ade

Listen/Download -The Mighty Flea – Ode To Billie Joe

Greetings all.

NOTE: I had planned to post this tribute to Johnny Otis on Monday. However, the word came down today that Miss Etta James had passed away, so I’m moving this post up a few days, and will pay tribute to Etta after the weekend.

A few days back I heard that the mighty Johnny Otis had passed away at the ripe old age of 90.

It had occurred to me that here in the year 2012, the name Johnny Otis would very likely be unfamiliar to many and known only peripherally (like they know they name but not the music behind it) to others.

Certainly many of you fine people that fall by here on the reg know and love not only the music he made, but much of the music that he facilitated, whether as talent scout, bandleader or even as father (on account of Shuggie is his son).

The sounds of Johnny Otis have been in my ears since I was a kid.

Though it’s fair to say that much of what I dig these days is his later funk and soul jams, I spent most of my formative years listening to oldies radio, which is why my ears (and head) are where they are now.

Any oldies station worth its salt would have been spinning his best known record, 1958’s ‘Willie and the Hand Jive’, though that was not his first or biggest hit* (he’d topped the R&B charts several times since 1950) but the first one to cross over to the pop chart (where it was Top 10).

Born John Veliotes in 1921, he got his start drumming in swing bands before starting his own outfit and hitting with ‘Harlem Nocturne’ in 1945.

Though he continued to record, he diversified, opening his own nightclub, working as a talent scout (he discovered both Little Esther Phillips and Etta James), A&R man for King Records (among other labels) and disc jockey.

Otis was particularly important because over the many decades of his career he touched on almost all aspects of black music (as it evolved) during that time, recording himself, or with others in blues, R&B, jazz, soul and funk.

It’s almost fitting to look at Johnny Otis as the center of an ever-expanding musical “galaxy” of sorts, with him as the hub around which of a wide variety of performers and supporting players expanded out into the world.

From his earliest days on Los Angeles’ Central Avenue scene, through his work with the revolving cast of the Johnny Otis Show (musicians and vocalists, performing and recording), on through his radio work Otis was constantly making or breaking music in some capacity. That he was able to do this in a professional capacity for almost 70 years is truly amazing.

The four tracks I bring you today have all appeared here at the blog over the years, and represent an interesting cross-section of Otis’ late 60s/early 70s funk and soul recordings.

The first two are the best known funk tracks recorded by the Johnny Otis Show, ‘Watts Breakaway’ and ‘Country Girl’, both featuring Johnny, his son Shuggie (you all know Shuggie, yes?) and vocalist Delmar Evans. Both tracks are prime, dance floor funk with the addition of sharp, often funny lyrics (especially ‘Country Girl’ which hit the R&B Top 40 in 1969).

The second pair of tracks are by Johnny Otis satellites/sidemen saxophonist Preston Love and trombonist Gene ‘The Mighty Flea’ Connors.

Preston Love’s ‘Cool Ade’ has the same humorous vibe (as well as Shuggie’s guitar) but moves at a slightly slower pace.

The Mighty Flea’s version of ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ is one of the funkier outings on that tune, with organ, drum breaks and Connors working the trombone in a Fred Wesley style. Otis and his pals also made some other excellent, in-demand funky 45s (with the same party vibe) for the Eldo label like ‘Keep the Faith’ and ‘Banana Peels’.

It also bears mentioning (once again) that the Vibrettes funk classic ‘Humpty Dump’ emerged from the Johnny Otis laboratory, not – as is often reported – that of Mr Eddie Bo.

That said, there is a lot more music out there to add to the Johnny Otis story.

I for one am going to settle in with a copy of ‘Midnight at the Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story’ and get my learn on.

I hope you dig the tunes, and raise a glass (or perhaps a little hell) in memory of one of the true greats, Mr Johnny Otis.

Peace

Larry

*If mid-60s boogaloo is your bag, make sure you check out Castor’s Smash records material, which is excellent.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, January 15, 2012 5:19 pm

Charly and the Bourbon Family

Listen/Download -Charly and the Bourbon Family – Boogachi

Greetings all.

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

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

Today’s selection is yet another of those examples.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (5)

By Larry, January 8, 2012 3:07 pm

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

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

Greetings all.

I hope everyone had themselves a nice weekend.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I hope you dig both sides of this one, and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (14)

By Larry, December 27, 2011 7:58 pm

On the scene at Subway Soul

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

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

Greetings all.

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

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

And what a year it’s been.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I will continue to do so.

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

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

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

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

Keep the Faith.

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

Peace

Larry

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

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some very tasty UK Folk Rock.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 22, 2011 3:25 pm

Harvey Averne

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

Greetings all.

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

So, here it is.

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

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

Peace

Larry

Originally posted 12/21/10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I hope you dig the tune.<<

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

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By Larry, December 20, 2011 8:10 pm

West Coast/East Coast

Listen/Download – George Conedy – El Nino Del Tambor

Listen/Download – Lenox Avenue – Little Drummer Boy

Greetings all.

Today’s Christmas goodies appeared here at Funky16Corners at different times over the last five years (or so). They are both extremely cool versions of a song that I’m not particularly fond of in it’s natural incarnation, so you know they must be good for me to post them.

Dig – if you will – and stay tuned for more on the morrow.

First – George Conedy and ‘El Nino Del Tambor’

>>On the flippity flop, I bring you the result of a happy accident (referring not to the recording of the record, but rather the circumstances by which it landed in my Crate du Hammonde).

The record in question popped up a while back on the sale list of a pal of mine, who’s taste in music I hold in very high regard (howdy Agent 45…).

So, on this list I see a record with the brief (but wholly sufficient description of “funky Hammond version”), directly adjacent to a very reasonable price, which was at the end of a line that began with a Spanish song title (which I didn’t bother to translate). So, I pay my money, some time elapses and the record in question pops through the mail slot at Funky16Corners headquarters. I whipped it on the turntable, and in a few short seconds (about as long as I suspect it will take you) it became apparent that the title was in fact ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ en Espanol.

I have to say that even as a tike, when they still showed the animated special of the same title, this was far from my favorite Christmas tune, certainly not the kind of thing I thought capable of funk-a-fi-zation. Little did I know that sometime in the late 60’s or early 70’s an organist named George Conedylaid down an LP of Christmas tunes for the gospel subsidiary of the Kent label, which I am assuming was the source of the music on this very 45**.

All I have to say is that George took an overly solemn carol and turned it into a slow, funky jam that sounds like it dropped out of the long lost (so long lost as to never have existed..) Santa-sploitation classic “Superfly Santa the Hard Way” aka “Hell Up in the North Pole”, in which our hero, Saint Nicky, wearing a red (of course) velvet suit, and driving a red and white Caddy brings Christmas joy to all the poor kids (and a few of the better looking women) on his route.

I’ve gone a-Googling, and as far as I can tell Mr. Conedy has vanished into the ether.

Well, wherever you be I say Huzzah! And Merry Christmas to you George!<<

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Second – Lenox Avenue and ‘ Little Drummer Boy’ (originally posted 12/09)

>>The tune I bring you today is something I picked up this year (and oddly enough I can’t remember the circumstances of its arrival in my crates). It’s a funky take on that old holiday chestnut ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ by a group called Lenox Avenue. This, their sole 45 was released on Chess in 1970.

Though I haven’t been able to find any info on the group, the names on the label suggest to me that this may in fact be an early incarnation of the group that recorded an album a few years later under the name the Chuck Rainey Coalition (on the Skye label).

Bassist Rainey and his cohorts – including keyboardist Richard Tee – were major hired hands in the New York (and elsewhere, natch) studio scene, showing up on all kinds of records from the late 60s onward.

Lenox Avenue’s take on ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ is taken a slow, but funky pace with some groovy female backing voices. As I mentioned a while back when I posted the equally cool George Conedy version of the tune, this has never been one of my fave Christmas carols, yet when someone injects it with a dose of funk, I really dig it. <<

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (8)

By Larry, December 18, 2011 2:41 pm

Ho Ho Hyeaahhh!

Listen/Download – James Brown – Santa Claus Go Straight To the Ghetto

Greetings all.

The time has come, as it does once a year for yours truly to let loose with the Ho Ho Hos and the jingle bells and what not on account of the fact that Christmas is approaching rapidly.

As has been mentioned here before, this is a multi-religious household, with myself representing the (extremely) lapsed-Catholic and my wife repping the Jewish and the Little Corners an interfaith bouillabaisse, their eyes and hearts filled to bursting with the childhood wonder of the season.

Which is really what it’s all about, at least from my vantage point, where what I want is no more or less than their happiness, and my wife’s good health.

You know that I’ve mentioned here (every single Christmas since this blog has been extant) that I have never been a prodigious collector of holiday music. Whether this has to do with my acceptance (almost at the DNA level) of the cheesy/classic seasonal sounds of my childhood, to the point where I can sit back and take some comfort in the sound of the voices of Andy Williams or Jim Nabors (and surprisingly enough, I can), or that seeing limited appeal/value in holiday music, I’d rather spend my money on reg’lar old soul and funk is in the end meaningless, since there always seems to be something cool dropping in from the margins to satisfy the Funky Kringle in us all.

I bring you today’s selection in particular because it is a favorite of bot myself and my wife, and naturally because it is a very groovy, upbeat and cheerful Christmas offering from Mr Please Please Please (HO HO HO?) himself, James Brown.

When I listen to ‘Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto’, I realize that what we get with this record is both funky and danceable, but also poignant, especially in these days where there’s a tent city of homeless families not 10 miles from my warm, toasty house, and Mr Brown was thinking of how this, the most precious of holidays for children especially, could be rough for the poorest among us, and we should remember that while we listen to this song.

We should also remember that James Brown, who gave us such a great Christmas song, left us on that very day five years ago.

So dig the tune (there’ll be many old faves dropping as the week progresses) and remember that not everyone has the wherewithal to have a groovy holiday.

So try to remember that even if you are (like me) not a religious person, that the Christmas season can just be about brotherhood in the general ‘Family of Man’ sense, which is cool too, especially when times are tough (which they are for so many).

See you on tomorrow.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, December 15, 2011 12:45 pm

James Rivers

Listen/Download – James Rivers – Fonky Flute

Greetings all.

The end of another week is upon us, and so I must remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show will be hitting the airwaves of the interwebs this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. This week we have Part 2 of our international excursion, with stops in Africa, the West Indies and the UK, so make sure to stop by and dig it. If you are unable to do so, but still wish to hear the show you can fall by here and pick up the ones and zeros on Saturday when I post the show as an MP3 here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a groovy one that I’ve been holding out of the spotlight for a while (though it did drop in a mix about four years ago).

The artist in question, James Rivers is a cat that I’ve been following ever since I started to get deep into the sounds of New Orleans.

Rivers was a multi-instrumentalist (equally adept on sax and flute) who recorded a number of excellent 45s under his own name for labels like Instant, Eight Ball, Kon-Ti and J.B.’s, as well as at least one album. He was also a busy sideman in the studios of New Orleans, working for cats like Eddie Bo.

Rivers recorded several 45s for Lionel Worthy’s Kon-Ti label in the late 60s and early 70s (see Dan Phillips article on Rivers’ Kon-Ti sides at the always excellent Home of the Groove) and the catalog number seems to place today’s selection in the vicinity of 1969 or 1970.

I picked up my copy of ‘Fonky Flute’ in an auction years ago, and have never seen another copy since then (which is why I’ve never had the opportunity to ‘mint up’).

The record starts out innocently enough, with a pleasant melody being stated by the band (organ, piano, drums and bass) and River’s flute lead.

The flute soloing begins to get gradually more intense, until about the 1:30 mark at which point Rivers goes absolutely batshit with the overblowing and the vocalizing, eventually closing out the passage with a whistle (?!?), in the Rahsaan Roland Kirk stylee.

The song then pops back into the groove, with Rivers getting just a little bit crazy again before the run out groove.

You know I’m a huge jazz flute fan, and the first time I heard this record I just about flipped my wig.

Rivers was a versatile instrumentalist – which is probably made him such a popular studio hand – and this can be seen in his own recordings. He was capable of playing blues, jazz, New Orleans second line parade sounds, soul and funk.

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 13, 2011 4:07 pm

Dizzy Gillespie

Listen/Download – Dizzy Gillespie – Soul Kiss Pt1

Greetings all.

I hope the middle of the week, aka dio del humpo finds you all well.

If you fall by Funky16Corners on the reg, you already know that I often find myself in a jazz bag, but even the most devoted might be surprised on how deep that bag really is.

Thanks to my father, a musician and a fan, I’ve been hearing jazz my entire life, from Dixieland, to Chicago style, West Coast cool, and hard bop (in my parents house) and adding post bop, fusion and free jazz in my adulthood.

There was even a period in my late 20s to my early 30s where I listened to little else.

There are often jazz and jazz-related features here on Funky16Corners (and on the radio show) but those are generally restricted to the groove-based and the funky.

I’m not here to tell you that I’m going to start rhapsodizing about my deep and abiding love for Clifford Brown and Thelonious Monk, or that I’m going to start another blog, because I’m not (insane), but rather to preface the inclusion of another groovy, funky track, that happens to have been made by one of the most prominent innovators in the history of jazz.

It has been discussed here before, but to reprise briefly, there are two kinds of jazzers you will find here at Funky16Corners, those who’s career is rooted almost exclusively in soul jazz/groove, in that those sounds were their figurative bread and butter, and old school players who found themselves on the margin as the 60s arrived and took a detour into a more contemporary sound in an effort to stay current.

John Birks ‘Dizzy’ Gillespie found himself in 1971 teetering on the border between those two groups.

It was Gillespie, who along with Monk, Charlie Parker, Kenny Clarke and many others verily gave birth to Bebop in the 1940s.

Dizzy had the extra added benefit of also being a hepcat supreme, becoming in essence the face of the movement with his beret, goatee and hip lingo. People might have heard of Parker or later (much later) Monk, but they knew what Dizzy looked like, and in the earliest days of the spread of electronic media, that meant that for many, he was THE face of modern jazz.

I was lucky enough to see him twice in the late 70s and early 80s.

The tune I bring you today was recorded in 1971, when keyboardist Mike Longo was working in Dizzy’s band.

While there were old school boppers like James Moody on the session, you also had Longo, Bernard Purdie and Phil Upchurch as well.

The sound of ‘Soul Kiss’ is about soul jazzy as Dizzy ever got, and it’s not hard to see cuts like this as his bid to stay in the rapidly evolving game.

The groove is hard, the organ wails, and the only indication the listener gets that Gillespie was involved are the short, sharp trumpet bursts in the chorus.

The album that it comes from ‘The Real Thing’ is a very funky affair, especially for Gillespie, and as a result it is sweated heavily by the crate digging set.

I have yet to find a vinyl copy of the LP, but the 45 I bring you today will do for now.

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (5)

By Larry, December 1, 2011 2:08 pm

The Village Callers LP

Listen/Download – The Village Callers – Hector

Greetings all.

I hope the end of the week finds things in your corner of the world settled, mellow and wonderful.

Things here are fairly groovy, with my lovely wife nestled in the warmth of home.

She’s doing well, considering the hell she’s been through, but her prognosis is good. She goes back in for round two of chemo next week, and while we’d all rather she be home, as the old saying goes, you gotta do what you gotta do, and right now that involves doctors and medicine and all that goes along and while it’s tough now we’ll have the rest of our lives to sit back and hoist our collective middle finger toward cancer as it disappears in the rear view mirror.

This has been a real awakening into the capricious nature of life, or at least what can happen to “our” life and how quickly it can be rearranged whether we like it or not. You can’t really waste a lot of time carping about why it is thus (though we’ve done that too), and in the long run the only sane thing to do is kind of stare down the beast with all the technology and mental strength you can muster, value the good things you still have (and that is a lot) and soldier on.

I won’t lie and tell you that I haven’t spilled a few tears, whether the product of fear, sadness or frustration, but I will tell you that you find real, solid comfort from all corners (sometimes in places you didn’t expect), and that is always a pleasant surprise.

Our friends – here in our immediate sphere, and out in the wilds of the interwebs – have been singularly uplifting, and in my own case, being able to retreat into the blog has been of immense value.

I should stop here and remind you that Friday night at 9PM sees the return of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. This week is a survey of international funk and soul, with stops in Sweden, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Japan and Jamaica. If you can’t be there at the time of broadcast, you can always pick the show up as an MP3 on Saturday, right here at the blog.

That said, while I had a couple of articles stockpiled, I found myself straightening the record vault this week and while I was digging for a few records that I had neglected to scan, I pulled out my 45 of the Village Callers ‘Hector’ and realized, much to my surprise, that in the seven years the Funky16Corners blog has been up and running I have never (outside of inclusion in a mix or two) put the spotlight on this incredible record.

I think the first time I ever heard ‘Hector’ was wayyyy back in the day on one of the old UK ‘Sound of Funk’ comps (I think on the same volume that introduced me to ‘Iron Leg’ by Mickey and the Soul Generation) and it was a classic case of love at first listen.

It took me a few years before I got my hands on an original copy of the 45, but it has always held a special place of honor in my record box.

‘Hector’ is one of those records that has a secure place in my personal all-time Top Ten, and I always dig getting the chance to light it up on a big, loud sound system.

It has the kind of groove that builds so organically, with the drums, bass, congas, hand-claps, guitar and above all Hammond organ, that you’re up and out of your seat before you know it.

‘Hector’ has something that a lot of funk 45s don’t, that being it swings and the overall effect is nothing less than life affirming, and not on some corny, message-y way, unless you’re willing to take your message as delivered within the groove, in which case it’s super heavy and profound in the same way that sunlight, or a smile can be.

The Village Callers (borrowing their name from the Johnny Lytle soul jazz classic of the same name) were an East LA club band that mixed the soul hits of the day with Latin soul and jazz for funky stew. You can read more about their history here.

‘Hector’ is an uplifting, happy record that elevates my spirits whenever I play it, and I know that’s something I need now, and something all of you can benefit from as well, on account of the weekend is almost here.

So pull down the ones and zeros and then get up and shake to the sound of the Village Callers.

I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.