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By Larry, November 24, 2016 9:11 am

Mmmmmmmm!

Greetings all!

This collection of food-related mixes first dropped here on Thanksgiving 2011.

It’s been such a harrowing couple of weeks, that I thought I’d re-post something fun to go along with your Thanksgiving feast!

Don’t forget to dig into the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, dropping this Friday (subscribe in iTunes, listen on Stitcher, Mixcloud or TuneIn)!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, have a great weekend with your friends and family, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

 
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Funky16Corners Radio v.3 – Soul Food (That’s What I Like) Pt1

Track listing

Brother Jack McDuff – Hot Barbecue (Prestige)

 Soul Runners – Chittlin’ Salad Pt1 (MoSoul)

Lionel Hampton – Greasy Greens (GladHamp)

Albert Collins – Cookin’ Catfish (20th Century)

Andre Williams – Rib Tips (Avin)

Maurice Simon & The Pie Men – Sweet Potato Gravy (Carnival)

Mel Brown – Chicken Fat (Impulse)

Lonnie Youngblood – Soul Food (That’s What I Like) (Fairmount)

Prime Mates – Hot Tamales (Sansu)

Just Brothers – Sliced Tomatoes (Music Merchant)

Leon Haywood – Cornbread and Buttermilk (Decca)

Bobby Rush – Chicken Heads (Galaxy)

Booker T & The MGs – Jelly Bread (Stax)

Gentleman June Gardner – Mustard Greens (Blue Rock)

West Siders – Candy Yams (Infinity)

Hank Jacobs – Monkey Hips and Rice (Sue)

George Semper – Collard Greens (Imperial)

Billy Clark & His Orchestra – Hot Gravy (Dynamo)

Listen Download Mixed MP3

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Funky16Corners Radio v.9 – Soul Food Pt2

Playlist

1. Simtec Simmons – Tea Box (Maurci)

2. Johnny Barfield & The Men of S.O.U.L. – Soul Butter (SSS Intl)

3. Ronnie Woods – Sugar Pt2 (Everest)

4. Stan Hunter & Sonny Fortune – Corn Flakes (Prestige)

5. Fabulous Counts – Scrambled Eggs (Moira)

6. Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band – Spreadin Honey (Keymen)

7. Freddie Roach – Brown Sugar (Blue Note)

8. Albert Collins – Sno Cone Pt1 (TCF Hall)

9. Chuck Edwards – Chuck Roast (Rene)

10. Willie Mitchell – Mashed Potatoes (Hi)

11. Booker T & The MGs – Red Beans & Rice (Atlantic)

12. Righteous Brothers Band – Green Onions (Verve)

13. George Semper – Hog Maws & Collard Greens (Imperial)

14. Lee Dorsey – Candy Yam (Amy)

15. Roosevelt Fountain & his Pens of Rhythm – Red Pepper Pt1 (Prince Adams)

16. Bad Boys – Black Olives (Paula)

17. Willie Bobo – Spanish Grease (Verve)

18. American Group – Enchilada Soul (AGP)

DOWNLOAD – 39.3 MB Mixed MP3

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Funky16Corners Radio v.60 – Finger Lickin’ Good!

Funky16Corners Radio v.60 – Finger Lickin’ Good!

Playlist

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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.

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By Larry, October 25, 2016 9:58 am

Funky16Corners: You Gotta Have Soul!
An Hour of Soul and Funk Instrumentals

Booker T and the MGs – One Mint Julep (Stax)
Brothers and Sisters – Shake a Lady (Capitol)
Travis Wammack – Karate Time (Atlantic)
Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band – Brown Sugar (WB)
Chip and Dave – 7th Round (Sure Star)
Daddy Kae Trio – Shug!!! (Fairmount)
Lloyd Price Orchestra – I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Turntable)
E Rodney Jones – R&B Time Pt2 (Tuff)
Marketts – Richie’s Theme (WB)
Buena Vistas – Here Comes the Judge (Marquee)
Ricky Allen – Skate Boogaloo (Bright Star)
Sam Rhodes – Shake Your Soul Honey (Inst) (Capitol)
Alvin Cash and the Registers – No Deposit No Return (Mar V Lus)
Soul Machine – Twitchie Feet (Pzazz)
Leon and the Burners – Crack Up (Josie)
Johnny Watson – Coke (Okeh)
Little Sonny – Latin Soul (Revilot)
Gravities (Johnny Newton’s Band) – Do the Whip (Inst) (Mercury)
Sandy Nelson – I Don’t Need No Doctor (Imperial)
El Dorados – New Breed (Port)
The Peddlers – Steel Mill (CBS UK)
EJ’s Ltd – Black Bull (Back Beat)
Noble Watts – F.L.A. (Brunswick)
Les Demerle – The Raven (UA)
Soul Continentals – Bowlegs (Sound Stage 7)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents – You Gotta Have Soul 112MB/256K Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

The mix you see before you today is something I whipped up a while back for the great This Is Tomorrow blog.

It features a solid of of soul and funk instrumentals, guaranteed to make you get outcha seat and onto the floor (whether your dancing, or just on the floor is up to you).

There are a grip of recent acquisitions, including many tunes that have not appeared on the blog or the radio show before.

As always I hope that you dig it, and I’ll be back with some more stuff on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, October 23, 2016 10:17 am

Joe Hicks

Listen/Download – Joe Hicks – Home Sweet Home Part 2 MP3

Listen/Download – Joe Hicks – I’m Coming Home Part 1 MP3

Greetings all.

The new week is here and I come to you today with an old favorite of mine, that has been marinating in the ‘to-be-blogged” on deck circle for a long time.

Naturally, there’s no good reason for that, other than every now and then I circle a record warily, waiting for just the right moment (Tenacious D referred to it as ‘inspirado’), when the need to whip it on you and the right time to tell the story intersected perfectly.

Or, I might just have waited too long and it got too far back in the queue.

Today’s selection is kind of a “combination of the two”, which was also the name of a song by Big Brother and the Holding Company, who were from San Francisco, which is where this record was made, so kismet being a force that I am (usually) unwilling to go against, I finally got my shit together and added ‘Home Sweet Home Pt2’ by Joe Hicks to the line up.

It has been so long, in fact, since I first picked up the 45 that I have no solid recollection as to where I heard it first.

The time that it’s been recorded and in my crates suggests to me that I either heard it or heard about it from someone at the Asbury Park 45 Sessions, but I can’t say for sure.

When I mentioned kismet above, there really was something in the Jungian, collective unconscious/web of life that was nudging me toward this point.

Last summer, whilst the fam and I were grabbing a nosh in our local burrito joint, staffed largely by alternative/tattoo/music types, where they always have interesting music on the PA, I was about to shovel some spicy chicken mole into my maw when my ears perked up.

Though I was almost certain that I was listening to Jimi Hendrix/Band of Gypsys, I was also pretty sure that they were playing a medley of Sly Stone-related tunes, including the famous riff from ‘Sing a Simple Song’ and, very strangely, a piece of Joe Hicks ‘Home Sweet Home’, a tune written and produced by Sly, but light years more obscure than ‘Sing..”

Naturally, as soon as I got home I kept on Googlin’ (as opposed to chooglin’, vis a vis San Francisco) and what do I discover but A) That WAS the Band of Gypsys, with Buddy Miles on vocals and B) That WAS ‘Home Sweet Home’.

As is turns out, Jimi and band were paying tribute to Sly by working two of his tunes into a medley of sorts with ‘We Gotta Live Together’, credited the whole shebang to Buddy Miles (in a way that would never pass muster today) and that was that.

Joe Hicks was a San Fran Bay Area homeboy of Sly’s who had done some earlier recording with Pat Vegas (of …and Lolly/Redbone fame) and then a few singles with Sly, including a massive version of ‘Life and Death in G and A’, and then went on to record an LP in 1973 for the Enterprise subsidiary of Stax.

Hicks was also a songwriter, working with Bobby Womack and Delaney Bramlett, and having his tunes recorded by Delaney & Bonnie and Aretha Franklin.

Oddly enough, though listed as ‘Home Sweet Home Pt2’ on the label, the song is actually a continuation of ‘I’m Goin’ Home Pt1’ aka the other side of the record (‘Home Sweet Home’ actually starts at the end of the other side).

‘Home Sweet Home’ is the funkier side of the record, and as soon as the horns drop in there is no disputing that this is a Sly Stone joint.

The tune has the kind of funky punch of ‘Thank You Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin’ by the Family Stone, and Hicks has a powerful, raspy voice that matches the funk power of the instrumental backing.

There’s not much out there about Hicks. The Enterprise album seems to be the last time he recorded (there’s another side listed in Discogs but I think it was attributed in error) and in a later interview Sly mentions that he (Hicks) had eventually gotten strung out on, and killed by drugs.

As it is, he remains one of the more interesting Sly-related artists, with a short but solid discography that hints at the possibility of bigger things that were never delivered.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, October 13, 2016 10:11 am

Slim Harpo

Listen/Download – Slim Harpo – I’ve Got My Finger On Your Trigger MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is nigh, so I beseech you to keep your eyes and ears peeled for the weekly arrival of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. The podcast drops each and every Friday with the best in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn and Stitcher apps, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourselves a download right here at Funky16Corners.com

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Before we get started, take a moment to head on over to Mixcloud (by clicking on the graphic above) and vote for the Funky16Corners Radio Show as best funk/soul radio show!

When prompted for an example of the show, just click on this link and select the address of the page as an example.

Thanks very much, and now, on with the post….
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We close out the week here with something funky by the mighty Slim Harpo.

Slim, aka James Moore has been a huge favorite of mine since wayyyyy back in the day when my man Johnny Bluesman passed me a tape of Slim’s best stuff which good and flipped my wig.

Slim was one of those guys who is associated with the blues, but is something a little different, mixing sounds and styles in his own way, with a unique singing style.

He is best known for his earlier classics, like ‘Shake Your Hips’, ‘I’m a King Bee’, and ‘Baby Scratch My Back’, all of which became standards of the rock era.

By 1968 Slim was stretching out a little and working a little funk into the mix.

The funkiest of these tracks is ‘I’ve Got My Finger On Your Trigger’ (spelled ‘TRIGER’ on the label).

Written by Ben Keith, Billy Cox (of Hendrix’s ‘Band of Gypsys’) and Bob Wilson (all Nashville-associated music cats), ‘I’ve Got My Finger…’ combines a wah wah guitar, some very funky bass (Cox??) and a tight horn section.

Though it didn’t chart anywhere (though Slim was still having hits in 1968) is is one of his finest, and ought to be better known.

If you don’t have any Slim Harpo in your record box, go out and grab some. There’s plenty available in reissue, and it’s all good (really).

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, September 29, 2016 11:36 am

Buddy Guy

Listen/Download – Buddy Guy – Buddy’s Groove MP3

Greetings all.

Since the end of the week is approaching, I will remind you once again that the Funky16Corners Radio Show drops each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You cans ubscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 right here in the Radio Show archive.

We close out the week with something very groovy, and very soulful (and even a little bit funky) from the mighty guitar slinger Buddy Guy.

If you have even a passing familiarity with modern blues you know the name Buddy Guy, on his own, or in partnership with harp burner Junior Wells.

Though Guy is often associated with Chicago, he came up in Louisiana, before moving to Chitown in 1957.

Guy is younger than the first wave of Chicago bluesmen (he was born in 1936 and laid down his first sides in the late 50s for Artistic.

He worked as a solo, with Junior Wells and as a sideman for a wide variety of people including Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, and Big Mama Thornton.

He was also respected by, and a big influence on several generations of blues and rock guitarists, including Hendrix, Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

‘Buddy’s Groove’, which was originally included on the 1968 Chess LP ‘I Left My Blues in San Francisco’ sees Buddy stretching out a little bit, crossing over to the soul side of the street.

The tune, written and produced by Gene Barge has Buddy wailing on vocals and guitar, with backing from piano, saxophone, bass and drums. The drummer (not sure who) even gets to work it out with a nice long drumbreak!

What I find especially cool about this record is that while it appears to be a shot at hitting the pop charts (which, sadly it did not) it works 100%. At no point do I find myself rolling my eyes at any obvious sell-out moves. Buddy is on point the whole time and there’s nothing here that doesn’t sound completely organic.

There are other soulful tracks (though nothing quite this funky) on the album, right alongside plenty of straight blues, and there is plenty of evidence on his Vanguard and Chess sides that he was capable of that and much more (even jazz, check out his version of Bobby Timmons ‘Moanin’).

Buddy Guy was also an excellent singer, as evidenced by smoking, soulful R&B like ‘I Dig Your Wig’.

Guy is an artist that is considered a giant of the blues today, but I suspect that most people have little knowledge of his 1960s recording, which are essential. There is a great two-disc collection of his Chess studio recording that ought to be a part of everyone’s library.

That said, I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, September 27, 2016 10:42 am

Ronnie Marks (today)

Listen/Download – Ronnie Marks – Some Lonely Heart MP3

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today made its way into my playbox via the generosity and knowledge of a friend, which is always a groovy thing.

Many, many years ago my man Haim and I were out digging at a record show when he passed a Fania 45 to me, saying ‘You need this. Soul 45 on Fania.’ Naturally that sounded like a tasty proposition, so I tossed the 45 on my stack, paid up and took it home.

Good thing I did, since not only is it a very cool 45, but Ronnie Marks has a very cool story.

I have always been fascinated by non-Latinos that made their mark in the boogaloo era, especially guys like Harvey Averne and Larry Harlow.

Something that also grabbed me, was how many great Latin soul records are credited to the bandleader, while someone else is actually handling the vocals (very, very common in boogaloo).

Today’s selection is an intersection of those two threads.

Ronnie Marks worked as a singer with Latin bands for relatively brief, bit important and particularly productive time in the late 60s and early 70s. He worked with both Mongo and Monguito Santamaria, as well as Johnny Pacheco.

Marks was the singer on Monguito’s ‘Juicy’ and ‘Hey Sister’, as well as Mongo pere’s classic ‘We Got Latin Soul’.

‘Some Lonely Heart’, released in 1971 and produced by Jerry Masucci and Harvey Averne is prime, blaxplo-era funky soul. There is a little bit of Latin percussion helping to keep the beat, but this tune could have appeared on an LP by the Four Tops or the Temptations without a single alteration.

It contrasts the funky backing with a nice string arrangement and interlude, and Marks’ vocals are top shelf.

As far as I can tell ‘Some Lonely Heart’ didn’t chart anywhere, which is a damn shame.

Ronnie Marks is still around today, and working on a comeback. Dig this interview with Antonio Caez.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, September 20, 2016 10:08 am

Miss Delores Hall

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

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

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, September 18, 2016 10:26 am

Tommy Wills (seriously…)

Listen/Download – Tommy Wills – Funky Sax MP3

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 15, 2016 11:56 am

Floyd Morris

Listen/Download – Floyd Morris – A Mellow Mood MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday with the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud or grab yourself an MP3 right here at the blog.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, September 1, 2016 11:38 am

Mickey and the Soul Generation

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

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 30, 2016 10:27 am

Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers

Listen/Download – The Soul Brothers – Horsing Around MP3

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 14, 2016 9:15 am

Listen/Download – The Mystic Moods – Cosmic Sea MP3

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today has been a huge fave since I first heard it pumping from the speakers of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions, courtesy of my man DJ Prime Mundo.

‘Cosmic Sea’ by the Mystic Moods (Orchestra) is one of those records that simply has to be heard on a big sound system, or at least on some high quality headphones.

It is a breakbeat classic ans sought after by funk 45 heads, but it has a really unusual history.

The Mystic Moods Orchestra was founded in the mid-60s by Brad Miller, one of the founders of the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (which record collector types will recognize as the source of the sought after MFSL/Original Master records), who got his start recording and releasing audiophile sound effects records (like stereo recordings of trains, etc). The “group” released over 20 albums between 1966 and 1990 (mostly for Philips and Warner Brothers), composed of a mixture of symphonic mood music, pop and easy listening, meant for the high end HI-FI sets in the bachelor pad listening rooms of the world. Over the course of more than two decades Miller, assisted by a group of arrangers and studio musicians, created a successful series of ‘musical environments’ meant to be used as the soundtrack of a variety of relaxing pastimes, up to and including lovemaking.

Their albums are not terribly hard to find, and for the most part, not anything that most Funky16Corners fans would be interested in.

However, a couple of times in the 70s, Miller and Co decided to get funky, and the finest of their efforts in that direction was ‘Cosmic Sea’.

‘Cosmic Sea’ was included on the 1973 LP by the Mystic Moods (they dropped the Orchestra the previous year), and was also released as a 45 (see above).

The record is – as you would expect from a dedicated audiophile – great sounding, with lots of phasing, and panning of synthesizers and drums for full use of stereo (especially on headphones). It is also quite funky, with some hard-hitting drums, clavinet solos, and just enough sweeping strings to capture the Barry White/boudoir market.

‘Cosmic Sea’ seems to have gotten some airplay on Pop stations (mostly on the west coast) and it’s presence on a major label has guaranteed that despite demand, it still isn’t terribly expensive.

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

See you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.