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By Larry, September 4, 2016 9:43 am

Major Lance

Listen/Download – Major Lance – Mama Didn’t Know MP3

Greetings all.

Welcome to another week here where the corners are funky and the music mellow as a cello.

Today’s selection is yet another one of those object lessons in flipping over your 45s.

I was goin through a box of wax and I pulled out Major Lance’s best known number, ‘The Monkey Time’, the first of a long string of hits that started in 1963, making him one of the finest exponents of classic-era Chicago soul.

That 45 was the work of a veritable dream team, with writing by Curtis Mayfield, arranging by Johnny Pate, and production by Carl Davis.

Now, when I took the disc out, I realized that I had no idea what was on the flip, so I flipped it over (naturally) to discover another Curtis Mayfield song, ‘Mama Didn’t Know’.

The title didn’t ring any bells, but as soon as I put under the needle, I realized that what I was hearing was an ‘answer’ record to Jan Bradley’s big hit (from earlier the same year) ‘Mama Didn’t Lie’, also – coincidentally – composed by the mighty Mr Mayfield.

Curtis, genius that he was, manages to ‘answer’ the other record, while dancing around the original melody, yet not getting too close, which is what a perfect answer record is supposed to do.

It helps that the team behind Bradley’s record gave it an entirely different sound, less polished than the Mayfield/Pate/Davis triumvirate, so Lance’s number never gives off rip-off vibes.

It may not be a monumental or essential disc, but it is proof, yet again of the amazing well of talent available in Chicago during the 60s.

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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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.

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By Larry, August 28, 2016 10:58 am

The Velvelettes

Listen/Download – The Velvelettes – These Things Will Keep Me Loving You MP3

Greetings all.

Writing and listening to music as much as I do, I often wonder why some groups are considered ‘major’ and others are not.

Sometimes, it’s obvious issues of quality that disqualify a group, but often it’s less objective criteria.

When you consider a group like the Velvelettes, who had three R&B hits (one a year for 1964, 1965 and 1966) only one of which grazed the Top 20, most people – at least casual listeners – would not think of including them alongside much better known acts.

However, to soul fans, who are willing to dig a little deeper and familiarize themselves with slightly less obvious facts (like who produced a record, for instance) the Velvelettes are a group worth reconsidering.

They made seven 45s between 1963 and 1966, almost all classics, and for most of that time were one of the early examples of the genius of Norman Whitfield.

Whitfield wrote and produced all but their first and last singles, and they remain among the finest things to come out of the Motown hit factory in its prime.

The record I bring you today was the group’s swan song, and though Whitfield was no longer involved, the Velvelettes were in good hands, indeed.
‘These Things Will Keep Me Loving You’ failed to chart here in the US, but it was a favorite of the soulies in the UK, where it grazed the Top 40 in 1966 and then returned to it in 1971 (another one of those records that the Northern Soul explosion brought back into the charts).

Written by Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol and Sylvia Moy (and produced by Fuqua and Bristol), ‘These Things Will Keep Me Loving You’ is one of those records whose absence from the charts is positively mind-boggling.

It is beautifully written, performed, arranged and produced, highly danceable, and with enough hooks to make an east crossover into the Pop charts, yet, bizarrely, it did not.

I always attribute these incidents to the veritable deluge of high quality music entering the market in the mid-60s, yet in this case it is especially curious and galling.

Had the Velvelettes had the opportunity to remain with Whitfield, and had lead vocalist Cal Gill not decided to leave music (at least temporarily) it’s possible that we’d be talking about the group in the same breath as the Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas (and certainly their records are at least as good as both) instead of trying to bolster their reputation.

Though their 45s aren’t incredibly hard to find, they’re not cheap, either, and this one can be a little more expensive than most. That said, all of their work is easy to find in reissue, and is, as described above, indispensable.

So dig it, 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, August 25, 2016 11:21 am

Alvin Robinson

Listen/Download – Alvin Robinson – Fever MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops as a podcast 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 devuice via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com.

If you stop by here or the podcast on the reg, you have surely witnessed me raving about the mighty voice of Alvin Robinson.

Robinson, a singer/guitarist from New Orleans, who traveled to NY with Joe Jones, where he met up with Leiber and Stoller.

With Leiber and Stoller at the helm, Robinson made a string of brilliant 45s for the Red Bird, Blue Cat and Tiger labels between 1964 and 1966.

First among these was his original recording of one of L&S’s greatest songs, the mighty ‘Down Home Girl’.

The flipside of that 1964 disc, was his version of the  Davenport/Cooley standard made famous by Little Willie John, ‘Fever’.

Aided by an arrangement by Stoller (with production by both L&S), Robinson lays into the song with a skillful, emotional touch that should have cemented his reputation as one of the great singers of the classic soul era, instead of the footnote he is to most people.

The band is fairly standard, but Stoller drops in vibes accents throughout the tune that add an air of mystery to the proceedings.

Robinson alternates between beautiful subtlety and his trademark growl, making this one of the highlights of his all-too-brief catalog.

Following his time with L&S, Robinson made a few more 45s in New York, before joining the New Orleans exodus to the West Coast (following Harold Battiste, Mac Rebennack, Jesse Hill and King Floyd) where he would make some excellent records for the Pulsar label, and continue working as a studio guitarist into the 70s. He eventually returned to New Orleans, and passed away in 1989, only 51 years old.

He was a mighty singer, and all of his work is highly recommended.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, August 21, 2016 8:52 am

Dig that crazy label design!

Listen/Download – The Grand Prees – Jungle Fever MP3

Greetings all.

It occurred to me, since it was Monday and all, and most of the world is dragging themselves to work or school, that I might whip something a little crazy on you to help get you moving.

Not too long ago I was perusing a sales list and I happened upon the disc you see before you today. Since I am constitutionally unable to pass by a record entitled ‘Jungle Fever’, I clicked on the link, listened to the sample, and knew I had to grab it for my crates.

The Grand Prees (with alternating lead vocalist – Douglass Pettijohn on this side) only ever recorded one 45, which was released twice, first on Candi (in 1961), and then again on the much cooler looking Golden Grooves imprint (in 1962).

These labels (and the Barvis label) were both the work of one JJ Chavis, who operated out of Wilmington, Delaware in the early to mid 60s recording Philadelphia-area R&B, soul and gospel 45s.

Opening with a very Chips/Rubber Biscuit-like doo-wop vocalization (Mr Pettijohn I presume?), a high female voice, organ and guitar drop in, and grooviness ensues.

The whole thing is rough (not Plookie McCline ‘Gorilla Walk’ rough, but pretty rough) with the lead vocal straying off-key, and the backing, especially the male voice and the organ, verily reeks of inspiration, as in ‘these people will never be this good, on anything else again’.

Chavis worked a lot with gospel groups, and ‘Jungle Fever’ sounds like a bunch of gospel records fell on the floor and were pieced back together by someone that was good and lit.

The organist especially, sounds like someone shackled to the amen corner that was yearning to let his (or her) freak flag fly.

The flip side is your basic, yearning ballad, without much to recommend it.

That said, ‘Jungle Fever’ is worth repeat plays.

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, August 18, 2016 11:46 am

Producer Tony Eyers

Listen/Download – Tony Cody – Walk On By MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops as a podcast 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 devuice via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com.

I first heard Tony Cody’s ‘version’ of ‘Walk On By’ a while back thanks to the Funk For the People blog, and I was blown away.

First and foremost, because it is undeniably a straight up lift of Isaac Hayes legendary arrangement of the Bacharach/David classic from the 1969 ‘Hot Buttered Soul’ LP.

Cody’s take on the song boils it down to its essence, from Hayes epic 12-minute reading into a much more (45RPM) manageable 4:27.

Who was Tony Cody, and how did this happen?

There’s really not much to say in that regard. Cody is a fairly anonymous figure, with only this record to his credit.

Interestingly enough, the backing track originated on a UK exploit LP called ‘The Hits of Bacharach’, credited to the ‘Singers and Chorus of Manhattan’. That version (which you can hear on Youtube) featured a female singer. The cash-in aspect of the LP makes it easy to understand the copying of the arrangement.

That album was produced by the same guy who produced the Tony Cody single, a cat named Tony Eyers, who had a long history of cranking out similar albums for the UK/Euro market through the 70s, with a couple of more legit projects along the way.

The Cody 45 takes the Hayes arrangement and softens the edges a little bit, but not enough to ruin the overall effect, and Cody’s voice – while not possessed of the depth of Isaac Hayes – gives the record a kind of fuzzed out, lounge vibe.

Oddly enough, this 45 charted in Thailand (and nowhere else) in 1972!

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

See you 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, August 11, 2016 1:27 pm

Al Thomas solo, and with the Sweet Delights

Listen/Download – Al Thomas – I Had a Good Thing (But I Blew It) MP3

Listen/Download – Al Thomas Ork – Cornbread and Molasses MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, so I will beseech you once again to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show. You can subscribe to the show as podcast in iTunes (maybe review and rate it while you’re there?), listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at the blog.

We’re going to close out the week with a groovy Philly 45 that I’ve had in my crates for years but only just recently made a discovery about.

I picked up the Al Thomas Ork 45 ‘Cornbread and Molasses’ after hearing it in a mix back in the day. I was already buying up any Philly soul and funk I could get my hands on, especially anything on the Virtue label.

My assumption at the time was that Al Thomas was the same cat as ‘Big Al T’ who did the two-sided instrumental funk 45 of ’25 Miles’ b/w ‘Do the Slide’ which I already had.

So – as is often the case – I didn’t really dig into the flipside, the vocal version of the song ‘I Had a Good Thing (But I Blew It)’ until years later.

When I did, with my aptitude and taste for sweet soul more highly developed, it really made a mark. It has that groovy, slightly funky, late 60s (1968) vibe that you heard a lot coming out of Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit.

So I started digging around, looking for information on the participants and I discovered some interesting things.

First off, ‘Al Thomas’ was in fact Albert Thomas Byrd. Secondly, Al Thomas was the sole male member of the Sweet Delights, who made an excellent 45 for Atco ‘Baby Be Mine’ that same year.

As it turns out, ‘I Had a Good Thing (But I Blew It)’ is in fact the Sweet Delights. It should have been their second 45, but someone decided that they’d be better off marketing it as a solo single by Thomas/Byrd.

Unfortunately, neither 45 seems to have made a dent either inside or outside of Philadelphia, though the funky, instrumental side of the Sweet Delights ATCO 45, ‘Paul’s Midnight Ride’, credited to the Delights Orchestra got some regional airplay in the Midwest and the South.

It’s an excellent 45, and I hope you dig it.

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, August 9, 2016 11:07 am

Ruth McFadden

Listen/Download – Ruth McFadden – Rover Rover MP3

Greetings all.

Back in the day, when I was digging up (and taking home) all the Philadelphia soul I could find, I was lucky enough to find all three 45s released on a short-lived label called Huff Puff.

The ‘Huff’ was of course Leon Huff (of Gamble and…) and the releases, by the Landslides, The Producers and Ruth McFadden (all 1968) were all arranged by Bobby Martin (though he’s not explicitly credited on the Producers 45) and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

The music – as is to be expected – is all first rate, played by the Philly rhythm section guys (Baker, Harris, Eli, Montana etc) and of course amazingly written songs.

They’re all interesting (I wrote up the Producers a while back and all three 45s have been played on the Funky16Corners Radio Show), but the Ruth McFadden 45 especially so.

McFadden had had a career as an R&B singer back in the 1950s, and then dropped off the radar almost completely (other than a 1965 one-off for Sure Shot) until she reappeared on Huff Puff with ‘Rover Rover’ in 1968.

‘Rover Rover’ is a funky, atmospheric (dig those strings) number with a great, gritty vocal by McFadden and a Bobby Eli guitar line that would pop up again in the Brothers Of Hope 45 ‘Nickol Nickol’ on Gamble that same year.

Though she would go on to record another great single for Gamble and Huff (‘Ghetto Woman Pts 1&2’ in 1972) none of her stuff charted (even locally in Philly) and she remains a fairly obscure artist (though there appears to be a compilation of her earlier recordings).

That said, this is a very groovy 45 that grows on you with repeated listens.

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, August 7, 2016 11:51 am

Junior Parker – Taxman (Capitol)
Jackie Wilson – Eleanor Rigby (Brunswick)
Don Randi Trio – Love You To (Reprise)
Gary McFarland – Here There and Everywhere (Skye)
London Jazz 4 – Yellow Submarine (Polydor)
Don Randi Trio – She Said She Said (Reprise)
Linda Divine – Good Day Sunshine (Columbia)
Maceo and All the Kings Men – For No One (Excello)
Don Randi Trio – I Want To Tell You (Reprise)
Chris Clark – Got To Get You Into My Live (Motown)
Junior Parker – Tomorrow Never Knows (Capitol)

Pictured: Jackie Wilson, Junior Parker, Linda Divine and Maceo Parker

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents: Revolving In Soul 54MB Mixed MP3

NOTE: The always excellent Any Major Dude With Half a Heart blog did a similar (though more stylistically all-encompassing) mix that you should definitely check out. There’s some crossover, but I think you’ll dig both mixes – Larry

Greetings all.

I was puttering around in the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault the other day and some friends brought it to my attention that the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles epic ‘Revolver’ LP – one of the most important and paradigm-shifting albums of the 60s – was upon us.

Naturally, having devoted several mixes to the songs of the Beatles (as covered by soul, funk and jazz artists) I had to see if I could put together a mix of covers that approximated the track listing and running order of the original.

I had to cheat a little bit (what you see here matches the track listing of the US issue of the album, i.e. the one I grew up with, but not the longer/more interesting UK issue, which you see on CD reissues of ‘Revolver’) and the running time is almost the same (with the mix running about two minutes over).

That is due to the fact that there aren’t many covers of material from the UK album that fit inside the (admittedly broad) stylistic brackets I mentioned above. There are a grip of soul/funk covers of songs like Eleanor Rigby, but none at all of ‘I’m Only Sleeping’, ‘And Your Bird Can Sing’ or ‘Doctor Robert’.

That said, I did have bunch of cool things on hand.

The saving grace was Don Randi’s 1966 ‘Revolver Jazz’ LP, contributing no less than three tracks to the mix, the swinging version of ‘Yellow Submarine’ by the London Jazz 4 (good luck finding a version of that song that isn’t meant for kids or played for comedy), and Maceo Parker’s stunning and wholly unexpected version of ‘For No One’.

A couple of the tracks in this mix have appeared here in some form before, but I couldn’t resist the pure novelty and record nerd-ery of recreating Revolver.

So, I hope you dig it, and I’ll 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.

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By Larry, August 4, 2016 11:24 am

Clockwise from top left: Thom Bell, Bobby Martin, Sam, Erv & Tom

Listen/Download – Fabulous Emotions – Number One Fool MP3

Listen/Download – Fabulous Emotions – Funky Chicken MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, so I will remind you all to dig into the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, which drops each and every Friday with the best in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, listen on TuneIn, Mixcloud or grab an MP3 right here at the blog.

The tunes we end the week with compose both sides of one of my favorite Philadelphia 45s, and part of an interesting story as well.

I first picked up the local, Nico release of the Fabulous Emotions ‘Number One Fool’ b/w ‘Funky Chicken’ more than ten years ago from my buddy Haim.

The a-side is a hard charging number with a following on Northern Soul dance floors. Produced by Philly mainstays Bobby Martin and Thom Bell (with writing credited to an otherwise unknown ‘F. Hill’, but more on that in a minute), ‘Number One Fool’, is a really well produced, prefect representation of the late 60s Philly sound.

The flip, ‘Funky Chicken’ is merely an instrumental dub of ‘Number One Fool’, but this time is credited to Martin and Bell! It was actually a minor local hit, charting on two different Philly stations, WDAS and WHAT (home of the Mighty Burner Sonny Hopson, Make no mistake-a Jake-a!).

The story takes an interesting turn when the track was released again on the Tamboo label, then recycled/reissued yet again (also on Tamboo) this time credited to the NY Jets!?!

Check out this old Funky16Corners web zine article where I go into detail on the multiple releases, but I will say that the 45 picked up a new track in its last version, this time with writing and singing by Sam, Erv and Tom of ‘Soul Teacher’ fame!

All versions of this record are excellent, as well as fairly hard to put your hands on these days. It is highly recommended that you grab one for your playbox should you encounter one in the field.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, August 2, 2016 4:39 pm

The Untouchables (Clyde Grimes on the right)

Listen/Download – The Untouchables – Free Yourself MP3

Listen/Download – The Untouchables – I Spy (For the FBI) MP3

Greetings all.

A little while back (the blog moves at a different speed during the summer due to an adjusted work schedule) I heard about the passing of guitarist Clyde ‘City Gent’ Grimes of the mighty SoCal mod band the Untouchables.

Back in the day, when MTV was still young and foolish, the video for the Untouchables ‘Free Yourself’ was a certified mindblower.

First of all, it was visually arresting in a way that most videos weren’t even close to. Second, it tapped into the mod soul thing (a sound I was just starting to devour) like absolutely nothing else on MTV, and the band was (unlike any other mod/retro band of the day) mostly black.

They formed in the early 80s, and their style was a very cool mix of ska, mod and soul.

Though they were largely one (and a half) hit wonders on this side of the country, they were hugely important to the Southern California mod scene of the time.

‘Free Yourself’ (written by Grimes) – which I find every bit as vital today, after more than 30 years – was a Top 30 hit in the UK. It’s a retro-soul banger that manages to capture, then reinvent a classic soul sound in a spectacular way.

Their cover of Jamo Thomas’s ‘I Spy (For the FBI)’ is also very cool. Produced in the UK by Jerry Dammers of the Specials for their second album (after the band had signed with Stiff) ‘Wild Child’, their version adds horns and a mod/ska edge to the soul classic.

This record is an EP released in 1985 combining their previous hit with two new cuts.

Though their recording heyday was over a long time ago, the Untouchables continued (with a dwindling number of original members) for years.

These are both killers, and I hope you dig them.

See you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, July 31, 2016 11:55 am

Chuck Edwards

Listen/Download – Chuck Edwards – Bullfight MP3

Greetings all.

Today we return to the catalog of one of my favorite soul artists, one who was covered at length back in the webzine days, the mighty Chuck Edwards.

Edwards, who was a Pittsburgh, PA institution until he relocated his family and his career to California, is best known for the incredible ‘Downtown Soulville’, one of the truly great records of the classic era.

Edwards had a long discography stretching back into the 1950s on labels like Apollo, Duke, Rene (his own imprint), Roulette, Punch and Kapp.

Though he never had any significant R&B or Pop chart success, today’s selection was an important regional hit in and around Pittsburgh.

‘Bullfight’, released in 1966, first on Rene, and the picked up for national distribution by Roulette made it into the Top 20 on local radio.

It’s important to take a minute to talk about the unique local music scene in Pittsburgh in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Spearheaded by local DJs like Mad Mike and Porky Chedwick, tons of otherwise obscure R&B, soul, garage or rock records became regional classics in Western PA while making almost no noise anywhere else. These have been collected over the years on a number of locally released compilations, and had an influence on local bands, who ended up covering some of these songs (as in Pittsburgh’s Swamp Rats covering tunes by Seattle’s Sonics).

Some of these compilations have been in print on and off for almost 50 years, and still change hands today.

‘Bullfight’, which features Edwards guitar prominently (as well as the repeated cry of ‘Hey Dino!’ which also appears in the 1969 sequel ‘Bullfight #2’) and chugs along at a brisk pace, yet only clocks in at an extremely brief 1:49!

Even at this late date, Edwards classic recordings have yet to be compiled, and his remains fairly obscure outside of collector circles (and Pittsburgh…).

Hopefully someone will get on the ball, because there’s a lot of very cool stuff in his catalog.

I hope you dig the track, 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.