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By Larry, April 21, 2019 8:02 am

Ronnie Milsap

Listen/Download – Ronnie Milsap – Ain’t No Soul Left In These Ole Shoes MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s selection is one of my favorite versions of one of my favorite songs (great how is works out that way, n’est ce pas?).

Ronnie Milsap was one of the biggest country stars of the 1970s and 1980s, but believe it or not he got his start as a soul singer.

Milsap, who was born almost completely blind, learned how to play the piano, and though he was supposed to go to law school, he left his academic pursuits behind for a career in music.

He was lucky enough to sign with Scepter records, and managed to score his first hit with the Ashford and Simpson tune ‘Never Had It So Good’ (backed with another of their songs ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’) in 1965.

His follow up was the first recording of Artie Resnick and Joey Levine’s ‘Ain’t No Soul (Left In These Old Shoes), which would go on to be something of a 1960s soul standard with recordings by Major Lance, the Corvairs, Kenny Bernard, and Tami Lynn among others.

Milsap’s version is among the rawest of them all, starting out with a fuzzy combo organ, prominent drums and a wailing vocal by Milsap. The arrangement by Tommy Kaye is fantastic, with a great horn chart and a hard-charging tempo that made the record a huge fave on Northern Soul dance floors in later years.

Milsap kept a bit of R&B flavor in his later successes, yet nothing as full on soulful as this.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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By Larry, April 7, 2019 2:46 pm

Listen/Download – Chip and Dave – Seventh Round MP3

Greetings all.

The track I bring you today is proof yet again that the Pacific Northwest scene of the 1960s – filled with rock bands with deep R&B roots –  is a gift that keeps on giving.

I have absolutely no recollection of how I first encountered Chip and Dave’s ‘Seventh Round’ (though I suspect it was an Ebay search for ‘organ 45s’) but I was very happy indeed when I slipped it under the needle.

Chip and Dave were the drum and piano/organ duo of Chip Rawson and Dave Immer, who – with the addition of various and sundry vocalists and instrumentalists – were an Oregon-based outfit that made two 45s in 1965 and 1966.

‘Seventh Round’ appeared on their first record, which came out on Sure Star in 1965 and was picked up by Jerden the following year.

The tune is a raw, fast moving, Ray Charles-influenced instrumental opening with drums (they even helpfully included the time signature on the label!) and piano, soon joined by the organ.

It’s the kind of record you can imagine a roomful of kids tearing it up to back in the day.

There’s almost no info out there about Chip and Dave, but the fact that their 45 was picked up by Jerden suggests to me that it must have had a certain amount of regional popularity. Their second 45 (for Decca) charted briefly in Washington (state) early in 1967.

Immer appears to have had at least one solo 45, on the PNW label Burdette in the early 70s.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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By Larry, March 24, 2019 6:50 am

Florence Ballard

Listen/Download – Florence Ballard – Forever Faithful MP3

Greetings all.

Every once in a while, if you’re lucky, you’ll encounter a record that sets you right back on your heels.

‘Forever Faithful’ by Florence Ballard is one of those.

A few years back, Gene Meredith was kind enough to invite me to come up and spin at the Steel Stax Soul Club.

As is the case every single time I’m lucky enough to spin with someone with good taste and a heavy collection, my ears were wide open and my want list ready to update.

When Gene dropped the needle on ‘Forever Faithful’ I got chills up and down my spine.

Here we have a record that is both a great dancer, but also possessed of a dramatic edge and filled from end to end with memorable hooks.

‘Forever Faithful’, written by Robert Bateman and James Wicker, and produced by Bateman (who has appeared in this space before as a frequent collaborator of Lou Courtney’s), was Florence Ballard’s final 45, about a year after leaving the Supremes and 8 years before she would pass away.

The arrangement, opening with strings and angelic backing chorus, quickly adds pulsing bass and drums, and after a short verse, the absolutely beautiful chorus comes in, a perfectly constructed, economic work of art, perfectly engineered for Northern Soul dance floors.

Unfortunately ‘Forever Faithful’ didn’t catch on at the time of release. It’s flipside, ‘Love Ain’t Love’ got airplay on a handful of Northeast pop stations, but doesn’t appeared to have made any inroads on the R&B side of things.

I hope you dig it as much as I do, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, March 17, 2019 9:29 am

Dorothy Moore aka Dottie Cambridge

Listen/Download – Dottie Cambridge – He’s About a Mover MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s certified banger has been steaming up my crates for a long time.

I first heard Dottie Cambridge’s distaff take on the Sir Douglas Quintet’s ‘(S)He’s About a Mover’ back in the day on the fantastic ‘Pow City!’ comp.

I was already inclined to dig it as a huge SDQ fan, but when I heard Dottie Cambridge and band lay into it, speeding it up and adding that crazy organ, I had to find myself a copy of the 45 (which I did in short order).

Interestingly enough, Dottie Cambridge was in fact Dorothy Moore, who went on to have a huge hit with ‘Misty Blue’ in the 70s. As far as I can tell this was her first solo 45, after recording as part of the Poppies forEpic.

‘He’s About a Mover’ was released in 1967 and produced by Huey Meaux, who produced the original by the Sir Douglas Quintet two years before.

It’s a hot, hot 45 and a dance floor mover, and might set you back a little bit more these days (than it cost me way back when).

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, March 10, 2019 10:36 am

Master Plan

Listen/Download – Master Plan – Bennie and the Jets MP3

Greetings all.

I thought, since it’s 2019 Marathon time over at WFMU, where my freeform radio thing ‘Testify!’ resides, a show that should be of interest to fans of both Funky16Corners and Iron Leg, that I might tie things together a bit.

Every years the DJs on WFMU programs put together a premium (usually in the form of a CD compilation) to entice listeners to donate to the station which is 100% listener-supported.

This year, my premium is ‘Souled Gold: Soul Artists Interpret 70s AM Gold’.
The comp is pretty self-explanatory, with some very groovy, soulful and funky covers of big AM radio hits.

The track I bring you today appears on the comp in question, and since it’s one of my faves therein, and hasn’t appeared in this space before, I thought I’d bring it to you today.

The Master Plan were a San Francisco Bay-area group that released a string of singles on a variety of labels between 1973 and 1988, including a handful on De-Lite.

Their version of Bennie and the Jets was released in 1975, and is – among the tracks on Souled Gold – particularly interesting.

Though it definitely sounds ‘of its time’ it also adds a jazz spin to Elton John’s tune, with an arrangement by David Van De Pitte, who had also worked with the Temptations, Edwin Starr and General Johnson among others.

As far as I can tell, despite its obvious charms, the Master Plan version of ‘Benny and the Jets’ was met with broadcast apathy, with the marked exception of one radio station in Oakland, California.’

If you dig the tune, and/or Funky16Corners, or WFMU (simply the greatest station in the nation) click on this link (or the logo above) and donate.

If you donate $75 or more you can grab yourselves a copy of ‘Souled Gold’ or any of the great 2019 DJ premiums.

So dig the sounds, dig into your wallets and groove.
See you next week

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, March 3, 2019 10:18 am

Warren Lee – Star Revue (Deesu)
Mac Rebennack and the Soul Orchestra – The Point (AFO)
Candy Phillips – Timber Pt1 (Atlantic)
Tommy Ridgley – In the Same Old Way (Ronn)
Eddie Lang – Something Within Me (Seven B)
Aubrey Twins – Love Without End Amen (Epic)
Bates Sisters – So Broken Hearted (Nola)
Benny Spellman – I Feel Good (Atlantic)
Chitlins – Sugar Woman (Pala)
Curley Moore – Soul Train (Hot Line)
Danny White – Cracked Up Over You (Decca)
Eldridge Holmes – Emperor Jones (ALON)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)
Lee Dorsey – Do Re Mi (Fury)
Robert Parker – Secret Service (Nola)
Zodiacs – Surely (Deesu)
Betty Harris – Trouble With My Lover (Sansu)
Eddie Bo – Fence of Love (Seven B)
Jesse Hill – My Children My Children (Chess)
John Williams and the Tick Tocks – Do Me Like You Do Me (Sansu)
Lee Calvin – You Got Me (Sansu)
Mary Jane Hooper – That’s How Strong My Love Is (World Pacific)
Aaron Neville – A Hard Nut To Crack (Parlo)
Skip Easterling – Keep the Fire Burning (ALON)
Alvin Robinson – Seaching (Tiger)
Dr John – Big Chief (Atco)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Keep the Fire Burning MP3
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Roger and the Gypsies – Pass the Hatchet Pt1 (Seven B)
Professor Longhair – Big Chief Pt2 (Watch)
Bobby Marchan – Shake Your Tambourine (Cameo/Parkway)
Diamond Joe – Gossip Gossip (Sansu)
Eddie Bo – Hook and Sling Pt1 (Scram)
Lee Dorsey – Four Corners Pt1 (Amy)
Dixie Cups – Two Way Poc A Way (ABC)
Earl King – Street Parade (Kansu)
Meters – Cardova (Josie)
David Batiste and the Gladiators – Funky Soul Pt2 (Instant)
Bobby Williams – Boogaloo Mardi Gras Pt2 (Capitol)
Curly Moore – Sophisticated Cissy (Instant)
Ernie K Doe – Here Come the Girls (Janus)
Larry Darnell – Son of a Son of a Slave (Instant)
Explosions – Hip Drop Pt1 (Gold Cup)
Rubaiyats – Omar Khayyam (Sansu)
Warren Lee – Funky Belly (Wand)
Willie Tee – Sweet Thing (Gatur)
Danny White – Natural Soul Brother (SSS Intl)
Lee Dorsey – Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further (Polydor)
Oliver Morgan – Roll Call (Seven B)
Eddie Bo – Can You Handle It (Bo Sound)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Presents Boogaloo Mardi Gras! – 85MB Mixed Mp3/192K
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Greetings all!

Yeah you right!

It’s Mardi Gras time again, and you know that the sounds of New Orleans have always been a cornerstone of Funky16Corners.

Today we bring back the two Mardi Gras mixes – one funky and one soulful – that I created for the blog over the years.

There is enough NOLA heat here to keep your party fired up for a while, so pull down the ones and zeros and get down!

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

________________________________________________

If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, February 17, 2019 12:00 pm

The Mad Lads

Listen/Download – The Mad Lads -No Time Is Better Than Right Now MP3

Greetings all.

The tale of “sometimes a record just sneaks up and knocks you on your ass” is one as old as time (and one that has been told in this space many a time).

That said, it bears retelling with every new incident because, a. a new record is involved, and b. that feeling of discovery/gratitude is such a gas.

The record in question this fine day was brought to my attention by my man Tarik Thornton (a giant among collectors/selectors and a righteous dude in all other ways) who included it in his guest mix ‘To Russia With Love’, right here, last September.

The song was ‘No Time Is Better Than Right Now’ by the Mad Lads.

I can remember vividly my feelings the first time I heard this song, starting with the usual “Where has this been all my life?”, followed by “Where can I get my own copy?” and then “Holy shit, what a cool tune!”.

‘No Time Is Better Than Right Now’ – written by Stax bassist Allen Jones and produced by no less a light than drumming master Al Jackson, Jr. (who had quite a sideline producing artists like Albert King, The Bar-Kays and Johnny Taylor for Stax), is a remarkable mix of heavy beat (which presages the feel of New Jack Swing), brilliantly applied harmony vocals (the way the Mad Lads soar into falsetto during the chorus is a thing of beauty), horns and funky piano.

That this wondrous song languished on the B-side of a minor R&B hit (Whatever Hurts You) and was never included on one of the group’s albums is criminal.

I mean, what were the folks at Stax thinking? Surely 1967 was a banner year for the label, and sometimes even great records get lost in the shuffle, but honestly, ‘No Time Is Better Than Right Now’ is so different, so tuneful, so artfully arranged and produced, so joyful a representation of where Memphis soul was (and was going), its obscurity boggles the mind.

The Mad Lads were formed at Booker T Washington High School in Memphis by John Gary Williams, Julius E. Green, William Brown and Robert Phillips and recorded for Stax/Volt between 1964 and 1973.

This record features a different lineup of the group – Sam Nelson, Quincy Billups, Julius Green and Robert Phillips – that recorded when John Gary Williams was in the Army.

I have no idea who did the arrangement, though I would be shocked to discover that it was anyone but Jackson on the drums (that swinging, sock soul sound was like no other).

The group released more than a dozen 45s and three LPs during their first incarnation.

None of the group’s records are terribly expensive (though their debut 45, and their LPs, especially the second one can be pricey), with this one usually gettable for around 20-25 bucks.

It’s a killer 45, and I hope you dig it as much as I do.

Keep the faith

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

________________________________________________

If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, February 3, 2019 1:04 pm

The Spellbinders

Listen/Download – The Spellbinders – Chain Reaction MP3

Greetings all.

The Spellbinders – New Jersey’s own – have been featured in this space before with their epic 1967 floorfiller ‘Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again)’.

The group made a string of outstanding singles for Columbia and Date between 1965 and 1967, all with the involvement of soul genius Van McCoy.

‘Chain Reaction’ from 1966 is a stellar midtempo number with echoes of the Miracles. As the song builds the group harmonies come in to fatten up the sound, which is – like many McCoy records – filled with hooks.

Interestingly, ‘Chain Reaction’ got released twice in the UK with a pair of b-sides, first on UK CBS with ‘For You’ on the flip and then again on Reaction with ‘Help Me’ on the flip, both in 1966.

Sadly, for a group with such a great sound and the assistance of Van McCoy, they onky had limited success, with ‘For You’ grazing the R&B Top 20 in 1965 and ‘Chain Reaction’, ‘We’re Acting Like Lovers’ and ‘Help Me’ scoring regional pop radio success.

The group broke up in 1967, with female lead Eloise Pennington moving on to join the Ad Libs.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

________________________________________________

If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, January 27, 2019 12:14 pm

The Sims Twins

Listen/Download – The Sims Twins – A Losing Battle MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s selection is one of my favorite 45s to come out of what I call the Los Angeles/New Orleans connection.

I use the term to cover the diaspora of New Orleans musicians, including Harold Battiste, Mac Rebennack, Jesse Hill and Earl Palmer among others that ended up working in a wide variety of settings in the studios of LA in the 1960s.

The Sims Twins were originally from New Orleans, before being discovered by Sam Cooke and moving out to the West Coast where the recorded a grip of singles for Cooke’s SAR records between 1961 and 1963 (including the original version of ‘Soothe Me’ later covered by Sam and Dave) and going on to record for Omen, Parkway, Specialty and Crossover, eventually running out of steam by the mid 70s.

Today’s selection was recorded for Omen Records in 1966. Written by Mac Rebennack and John Dauenhauer and arranged by Harold Battiste, ‘A Losing Battle’ is a great slice of upbeat soul with a fantastic arrangement.

Oddly enough, a while back, I was listening to Little Royal’s 1972 album, and one of the songs sounded vaguely familiar. It turns out he had covered ‘A Losing Battle’ but slowed the tempo way down, turning into a mournful ballad, rendering it almost unrecognizable.

That said, I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, January 6, 2019 2:35 pm

Gloria Jones

Listen/Download – Gloria Jones – Heartbeat Pt1 MP3

Greetings all.

The track I bring you today is one of the finest examples of hard-hitting, dance floor-ready West Coast soul.

Gloria Jones is duly famous for her 1965 killer ‘Tainted Love’, which went on to be one of the pillars of the Northern Soul canon (New Wave as well via the cover by Soft Cell in the 80s).

Jones was (along with Sandy Wynns and Brenda Holloway) a beneficiary of the writing and producing talents of the great Ed Cobb.

‘Heartbeat’ was written and produced by Cobb, with an arrangement by Lincoln Mayorga (as was Tainted Love).

‘Heartbeat’ is a thunderous mover, with a pulsing bass line, soul clapping, drums and organ, with a great vocal by Jones and an almost gospel-adjacent feel to it.

Jones’ original version was a fairly sizable hit on the West Coast, as well in a number of other regional markets.

Interestingly, the Hour Glass (featuring Gregg and Duane Allman) covered ‘Heartbeat’ on their first album in 1967.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, January 1, 2019 6:24 pm

Eruption

Listen/Download – Eruption – I Can’t Stand the Rain MP3

Greetings all

Today’s selection is a great example of a very familiar song in an unfamiliar (at least for Americans) setting.

The group Eruption was formed in London in the late 60s as Silent Eruption.
Singer Precious Wilson joined the group in 1974, around the time they were working as a backing band for Boney M.

In 1977 they joined up with Boney M’s producer Frank Farian (who also went on to create Milli Vanilli) to cover Ann Peebles’ Memphis soul classic ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’.

Peebles’ original, from 1973 was a masterpiece of stark arranging, with its use of drum machine placed alongside the Hi records house band.

The Eruption cover, engineered for disco dance floors attacked the song from a much more aggressive posture. The overall feel is faster, more electronic and more heavily produced.

Though it doesn’t have the sublime feel of the original, it isn’t without it’s own charm, enough so that it was a substantial hit in Europe and a disco favorite here in the US.

It would be their only success in the States, but they would go on to have hits in Europe into the early 80s.

Wilson went on to have a few solo hits in the UK.

I hope you dig the track and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

________________________________________________

If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, December 16, 2018 12:00 pm

Allen Toussaint

Listen/Download – Allen Toussaint – Get Out Of My Life Woman MP3

Greetings all

The track I bring you today takes one of the most covered tunes of the New Orleans soul scene, right back to the source (though not the original recording).

Allen Toussaint wrote ‘Get Out Of My Life, Woman’ for Lee Dorsey who had a fairly substantial hit with it in 1965.

The tune became a popular soul standard, and was covered by all kinds of artists, from LA folk rocker the Leaves, to jazz vocal giant Joe Williams.

The various and sundry versions of the song have become popular with diggers because of the tune’s built-in drum break.

Toussaint went into the studio to record his own version of the song in 1968, and the results are typically fantastic.

He lays the song down in a relaxed New Orleans groove, stripping away most of the lyrics and wrapping it all up in an interesting arrangement, with lots of piano, horns, and in a touch that showed up in a bunch of Toussaint productions at the time, acoustic guitar accents.

It’s always struck me a shame that Toussaint didn’t record solo more often, especially in the 1960s. I always like his vocals (though you can hear him singing backup on a ton of other people’s records) and his interpretations of his own songs were always interesting.

This 45 doesn’t turn up too often, but when it does it tends to be inexpensive.

I hope you dig it and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

________________________________________________

If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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