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By Larry, July 16, 2015 1:20 pm

Willie Henderson

Listen/Download – Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions – Funky Chicken Pt1 MP3

Listen/Download – Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions – Funky Chicken Pt2 MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so I will remind you to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can follow the show by subscribing to it as a podcast in iTunes, listening on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

I thought we’d close out the week with something funky (and coincidentally, ‘chickeny’ as well).

Though I certainly knew of the ‘funky chicken’ dance as a kid, I don’t ever remember hearing Willie Henderson’s ‘Funky Chicken’, though, since I was 7, and not listening to black radio at the time (it barely made it into the Pop Hot 100) it was pretty easy for a white, suburban child to miss.

That said, thirty years hence, I grabbed myself a copy of the 45 and dug in with gusto.

If you area devotee of Chicago soul, the name Willie Henderson ought to be a familiar one. Starting in the late 60s, Henderson was a significant presence as a session musician (baritone sax), composer, arranger and producer, especially for Brunswick and Dakar.

He wrote for and produced a wide variety of Chicago-based artists, like Mamie Galore, Syl Johnson, the Chi-Lites, Artistics, Gene Chandler, Major Lance and many others.

Released as by Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions, ‘Funky Chicken Pts 1&2’ was an R&B Top 20 hit early in 1970. Packed with heavy drums, chiming guitars, and of course, chicken sound effects, the song (produced by the legendary Carl Davis) is a dance floor mover, with a very tasty drum breakdown in Part 2.

Though the LP might set you back a few bucks, you should be able to file a copy of this most excellent 45 in your play box for less than ten dollars.

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 14, 2015 12:22 pm

Dorothy Morrison

Listen/Download – Dorothy Morrison – Ain’t That Peculiar MP3

Listen/Download – Dorothy Morrison – Higher and Higher MP3

Greetings all.

The name Dorothy Morrison ought to be familiar to longtime readers of the blog, as she has been featured here twice before, with her groovy cover of ‘Spirit In the Sky’ and her Loft classic ‘Rain’.

Morrison, who got her start in gospel, working with the California State Youth Choir and then the Edwin Hawkins Singers (that’s her on ‘Oh Happy Day’), eventually appearing in the 1969 film ‘Celebration at Big Sur’ (Dorothy Combs Morrison and the Combs Sisters, singing her first secular single ‘All Gods Children Got Soul’).

Morrison had a relatively brief career in the soul realm, running from 1969 to 1972 (with one last, rare 45 for the Brown Door label in 1975), but the records she did lay down are all excellent.

The record I bring you today is her 1972 version of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ (with a cover of Jackie Wilson’s ‘Higher and Higher’ on the flip).

Morrison had a deep, sultry voice with a remarkable amount of control, and it is displayed to great effect on ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’.

The arrangement starts out smooth, but builds up a nice head of steam, especially when the percussion and flute come in midway through.

The flipside, ‘Higher and Higher’ gets off to a very heavy start, indeed, before settling into a nice groove, which is refreshing when you consider what Rita Coolidge did to the song a few years later.

Oddly, despite the high quality of her records, Morrison was met with almost complete commercial indifference (aside from ‘Rain’ becoming something of an underground dance classic).

After her Brown Door 45 (co-produced by labelmate and fellow Oakland-ite Marvin Holmes), Morrison returned to gospel.

I hope you dig the 45, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, July 12, 2015 2:29 pm

Kool and the Gang

Listen/Download – Kool and the Gang – Funky Stuff

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well, not overly warm, and righteously funky.

______________________________________________

Before we commence with the week’s festivities, I threw the names of all the donors to the Funky16Corners 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive into a hat (donors who gave more than once went into the hat as many times as they donated) and the following folks won the following things, courtesy of the fine folks at Secret Stash and one prize from Fantastic Voyage:

Linda Ferguson –  2 2LP sets of the Mar-V-Lus and One-Derful labels

David Beasley  – 2 2LP sets of the Mar-V-Lus and One-Derful labels

Robert Gorney –  2 Valdons reissue 45s 

Randy Sherman  – 2 Valdons reissue 45s

Tony Crampton –  3CD set Jump Blues Jamaica Way: Jamaican Sound System Classics 1945-1960

Thanks to all of you that took the time to donate! Everything will go into the mail this week!

___________________________________________________

It is in that spirit that I relate to you a brief tale of father/son musical bonding, combined with just a touch of home team rooting.

Whilst out motoring some place or other, with the radio cranked to a suitable volume, who should pop up on the playlist but the mighty Kool and the Gang.

I took the opportunity to let my son know, that if he were ever asked to provide evidence of homegrown (New Jersey) musical greatness, he need go no further than Jersey City’s own, Kool and the Gang.

I have spoken in this space previously about how Kool and the Gang were the purveyors of some of the first funk I ever really dug (listening on the lunchroom record player back in the 5th grade in Milford Brook School, when I was the same age my son is now), with the big hits from 1973’s ‘Wild and Peaceful’, ‘Jungle Boogie’ and ‘Hollywood Swinging’ (which is what was playing on the car radio…).

Though they are best known to a younger audience for their smoother stuff (‘Joanna’) and the ne plus ultra of wedding staples ‘Celebration’, Kool and the Gang got their start as purveyors of straight up funk, with jazz on the side (good jazz, too).

They had their first R&B Top 40 hit in 1969 with the eponymous ‘Kool and the Gang’, but it would take six more stabs at the charts before they entered the R&B Top 10 with today’s selection, ‘Funky Stuff’ in 1973.

‘Funky Stuff’ is – like most of the best Kool ish – filled with blazing horns, thumping bass and drums (listen to the depth of the kick drum) and tasty guitar.

The record made it into the Pop Top 30, also a first for the group, which would blow the f*ck up with ‘Jungle Boogie’ in December of ’73, making it to Number 1 R&B and Number 4 Pop.

This is first-rate, hip-bumping party music, straight outta the Garden State.

So dig it, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 7, 2015 10:40 am

Little Bob and that mighty 45!

Listen/Download – Little Bob and the Lollipops – I Got Loaded MP3

Greetings all.

I had something else in the on-deck circle for today, but then this morning, what should pop up in my feed by word that Camille ‘Little’ Bob had passed away at the age of 78.

The record he made in 1965 with his band the Lollipops, ‘I Got Loaded’ is one of the all-time great party platters, and one of my personal favorites.

I originally wrote it up a decade ago in the early days of the Funky16Corners blog, so I thought that I’d repost that article, and the song again in tribute to the man.

So dig it.

– Larry

_________________________________________________________________

Originally posted 7/25/05

“I like to sing in the car.

There…I said it. Some people sing in the shower. I sing in the car.

When I’m driving to or from work (usually the only time I’m alone in the car), and a great song comes on, I’ll start singing at the top of my lungs, drumming on the steering wheel and generally making a fool of myself.

I can’t vouch for how this looks from other cars, but I’d guess it falls somewhere between amusing and disturbing (I guess depending on how you process the image of a great big guy covered in tattoos who looks like he’s yelling at no one in particular…).

Not every song will send me into such a state. One song that does (every time) is ‘I Got Loaded’ by L’il Bob and the Lollipops.

In the service of complete disclosure, I should mention that prior to a few years ago, I had no idea that ‘I Got Loaded’ wasn’t a Los Lobos song (the version I first became familiar with was when they covered it back in 1984). ‘I Got Loaded’ appeared on their LP ‘How Will the Wolf Survive’ and got a fair amount of college radio play at the time. I always liked their recording of the tune, but as I said, had no idea it wasn’t an original.

So a few years ago, my buddy Keith sent me a CD called ‘New Orleans Party Classics’, a Rhino comp of old school Mardi Gras hits including cuts by the Hawketts, Al Johnson, Oliver Morgan and others. I popped the disc into the CD player and about halfway through my ears perked up. “HEYYY!”, I thought, “I know this song!”. The tune in question was ‘I Got Loaded’, but the artist was new to me. I popped open the booklet and there was all I needed to know (at least for the moment), about L’il Bob and the Lollipops.

I was surprised a second time when I checked the writing credits for the song and discovered that “L’il Bob” was also known as Camille Bob, a name I knew from the very funky 1972 cut ‘Brother Brown’ (Bob recorded funk 45s for the Soul Unlimited and Master Trak labels). It wasn’t too long before I tracked down a copy of the original 45 on the La Louisianne label (a label that still exists to this day).

Camille Bob formed the Lollipops in the mid-50’s, recording for the Goldband (see Count Rockin’ Sidney), Jin and LaLouisianne labels.

By the mid-60’s (“I Got Loaded” came out in 1965) they were performing live every Saturday on the Lafayette, LA TV station KLFY’s “Saturday Hop”. They were equally adept at swamp pop, R&B and soul, and ‘I Got Loaded’ while still a Louisiana fave, is also popular with the Beach Music crowd. They recorded an LP for La Louisianne, a second LP for Jin a few years later and are still playing today (based out of Houston, TX).

“I Got Loaded’ opens with a great guitar riff and is followed quickly by L’il Bob’s high tenor vocals and the horn section. They lyrics are as straight-forward as you’d imagine with a title like ‘I Got Loaded’. Unlike many similar tunes, this not a cautionary tale but rather an endorsement of the intoxicating pleasures of gin, whiskey and wine (variety of course, being the spice of life…).

‘I Got Loaded’ has a swinging, dance friendly tempo and is a perfect mix of swamp pop, R&B and soul (all of which the Lollipops played with equal relish).

In addition to the Los Lobos version, ‘I Got Loaded’ has been covered by Robert Cray, Van Broussard, the Boogie Kings and Elvis Costello, as well as appearing on the soundtrack to ‘Bull Durham’ (I have also seen a number of references that suggest that that L’il Bob and the Lollipops are covering Texas bluesman Peppermint Harris’s tune of the same name, but having heard his recording I can say that aside from the same title the songs have virtually nothing in common).

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

______________________________________________

Don’t forget the drawing for 2015 Allnighter Donors (open until the end of next week).

The good folks at Secret Stash Records have sent along some very groovy promos as incentives for you good folks to donate to the 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

We have two pairs of two 2-record sets comprised of rare and unreleased material from the legendary Chicago soul labels Mar-V-Lus and One-Derful Records!

At the end of next week I will randomly select two winners from the list of this year’s donors to receive these incredible prizes. All you need to do (unless you’ve already kicked in, in which case you’re already eligible) is click on the Paypal button and donate at least $5.00USD to be entered for a chance to win.

All the names will go into a hat and one of the little Corners will select the winners, who will be announced in this space as well as notified via e-mail.

So get to clicking!

___________________________________________________

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 2, 2015 11:10 am

Jackie and the Count!

Listen/Download – Jackie Wilson & Count Basie – Uptight (Everything’s Alright) MP3

Greetings all.

The 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive has finally finished, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who took the time to stop by and donate, and especially to the DJs who dug into their crates and provided mixes.

This is always a favorite time of year, not only because I get to dig (right along with you) all the new sounds, but because of the good folks that show their love for Funky16Corners.

So thanks again, and let’s get going on the new year!

Don’t forget the drawing for 2015 Allnighter Donors (open until the end of next week).

The good folks at Secret Stash Records have sent along some very groovy promos as incentives for you good folks to donate to the 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

We have two pairs of two 2-record sets comprised of rare and unreleased material from the legendary Chicago soul labels Mar-V-Lus and One-Derful Records!

At the end of next week I will randomly select two winners from the list of this year’s donors to receive these incredible prizes. All you need to do (unless you’ve already kicked in, in which case you’re already eligible) is click on the Paypal button and donate at least $5.00USD to be entered for a chance to win.

All the names will go into a hat and one of the little Corners will select the winners, who will be announced in this space as well as notified via e-mail.

So get to clicking!

___________________________________________________

I thought it would be cool to close out the week with something extra groovy.

Jackie Wilson was one of the true giants of the classic soul era, and was all over the charts for more than a decade.

During his long, fruitful run at Brunswick Records, he recorded a pair of 45s backed by none other than the mighty Count Basie.

Like most other big band jazzers, the Count found himself struggling for relevance in the pop market of the ate 60s, and as a result was recording a wide variety of pop material in a number of different settings.

During 1967 and 1968, Basie and his band recorded an LP (‘Basie’s In the Bag’) and a few 45s under their own name, and another LP (‘Manufacturers of Soul’) and 2 45s alongside Wilson.

The album with Wilson was composed entirely of contemporary soul/R&B covers, including today’s selection, a version of Stevie Wonder’s 1965 hit ‘Uptight (Everything’s Alright)’.

The arrangement (by jazz vet Benny Carter) is brassy and hard-hitting, keeping the big-band-isms to a minimum and letting Jackie do his thing. There’s plenty of punch for the dance floor, and Jackie is in fine form.

This record had some minor chart action in Philadelphia, with the pairing’s take on ‘For Your Precious Love’ making it into the Top 40 in a number of markets.

It is very cool, indeed, and I hope you dig it.

Have a great weekend.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 29, 2015 11:18 am

Funky16Corners Presents Soul Party Vol 2 – Right Track
Jones and Blumenberg – The Right Track (Volt)
Fontella Bass – Recovery (Checker)
Frankie Valli – You’re Gonna Hurt Yourself (Smash)
Grover Mitchell with St John and the Cardinals – Take Your Time and Love Me (Josie)
Edwin Starr – I Have Faith In You Baby (Ric-Tic)
Spyder Turner – Can’t Make It Anymore (MGM)
Otis Leavill – Boomerang (Blue Rock)
Charlie McCoy and the Escorts – Screamin’ Shoutin’ Beggin’ Pleadin’ (Monument)
Incredibles – I Can’t Get Over Losing Your Love (Audio Arts)
Mirettes – He’s Alright With Me (Mirwood)
The Intruders – You Better Check Yourself (Gamble)
Dee Dee Warwick – Monday Monday (Mercury)
Corvairs – Ain’t No Sole In These Old Shoes (Columbia)
Bobby Paris – Per-Son-Nal-Ly (Tetragrammaton)
Danny Wagner – I Lost a True Love (Imperial)
Walter Scott and the Kapers – Brand New Girl (Ivanhoe)
RB Hudmon – Yo Yo (A&M)
Duke Browner – Crying Over You (Impact)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners – Soul Party Vol2 – Right Track

Greetings all!

Today I bring the final mix in the 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

Funky16Corners Presents: Soul Party Vol2 is the second have of a Northern Soul extravaganza, filled from end to end with floor-filling stompers!

I hope you all have dug this years set of mixes, and I’d like to send out a sincere ‘Thanks!’ to all the DJs that contributed mixes, and to all the readers/listeners who took the time to donate to help keep Funky16Corners up and running.

_________________________________________________

And now for some Big News!

The good folks at Secret Stash Records have sent along some very groovy promos as incentives for you good folks to donate to the 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

We have two pairs of two 2-record sets comprised of rare and unreleased material from the legendary Chicago soul labels Mar-V-Lus and One-Derful Records!

At the end of next week I will randomly select two winners from the list of this year’s donors to receive these incredible prizes. All you need to do (unless you’ve already kicked in, in which case you’re already eligible) is click on the Paypal button and donate at least $5.00USD to be entered for a chance to win.

All the names will go into a hat and one of the little Corners will select the winners, who will be announced in this space as well as notified via e-mail.

So get to clicking!

___________________________________________________

Normal blogging will resume later this week.

Everyone that donates will get the 2015 premiums, including the new badge and a bumper sticker!

See you on Monday.

Keep the Faith

– Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, June 15, 2015 10:39 am

Ben Gibson – Mo’Soul

Al Foster Band – Night Of The Wolf – Mellow Mellow Records
Frank Beverley & The Butlers – If That’s What You Wanted – Inferno
Dean Parrish – I’m On My Way – O.O.T.P
The Vontastics – Never Let Your Love Go Cold – St. Lawrence
Chris Clark – Something’s Wrong – SOUL
Sister Sledge – Love Don’t You Go Through No Changes On Me – Atco
Harvey – Any Way You Wanta – Tri-Phi
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis – Don’t Make A Fool Out Of Me – Sunday Best
Jackie Wilson – I’m So Lonely – Brunswick
Chairmen Of The Board – When Will She Tell Me She Needs Me – Invictus Records
The People’s Choice – Big Ladies Man – Phil-La Of Soul
Johnnie Morisette With Jennell Hawkins Sexette – I’m Hungry – J.&J. Records
Richard Marks – I’m The Man For You – Now-Again
Frank Motley & The Bridge Crossing – Ya-Ya – Jazzman Records
Billy Hawks – (Oh Baby) I Do Believe I’m Losing You – BGP
Leon Bridges – River – Columbia Records

Listen/Download Ben Gibson – Mo’Soul

Greetings all!

Today I bring you the first guest mix of the 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive, ‘Mo’Soul’ from my man in the UK, Ben Gibson.

First, a few words from Ben:

“I’m sure that those of you that drop by Funky16Corners regularly will all agree that Larry is a huge cornerstone (pardon the pun!) of our scene! I’ve been visiting this great site for years now and I’ve lost count of the many great records that I’ve been hipped to from Larry often resulting in a hurried and sometimes feverish spending spree, ask my bank manager, I’m sure he could tell you!

I urge you all to continue to support this great resource of information and music so Larry can carry on sharing his great collection and knowledge with us!

It’s a massive honour to have been asked to contribute, so here’s 50 minutes of the good stuff from my playbox for your listening pleasure!

Enjoy!

Ben”

So dig it, click on the Paypal button, (Everyone that donates will get the 2015 premiums, including the new badge and a bumper sticker!)and sit back and groove to the sounds. Tomorrow: DJ Prime Mundo!

See you tomorrow.

Keep the Faith

– Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 14, 2015 11:14 am

Funky16Corners Presents: Soul Party Vol1 – A Lot of Love

The Precisions – If This Is Love (I’d Rather Be Lonely) (Drew)
Bob Kuban and the In Men – SOS (Stop Her On Sight) (Musicland USA)
Jackie Lee – Temptation Walk (Mirwood)
Little Richard – Function at the Junction (Okeh)
Timothy Wilson – Got To Find a New Love (Buddah)
Billy Harner- Sally Sayin’ Something (Kama Sutra)
Faye Ross – Faith, Hope and Trust (Round)
Mighty Dodos – Honey I Need Your Love (Spark)
Bob and Earl – The Sissy (Cheyne)
Larry Williams and Johnny Watson – A Quitter Never Wins (Okeh)
Felice Taylor – Love Theme (Inst) (Mustang)
Gene Pitney – She’s a Heartbreaker (Musicor)
The Platters – Washed Ashore On a Lonely Island (Musicor)
The Belles – Don’t Pretend (Mirwood)
Roscoe Robinson – That’s Enough (Wand)
The Olympics – I’ll Do a Little Bit More (Mirwood)
Ike and Tina Turner – Dust My Broom (TRC)
Taj Mahal – Ain’t That a Lot of Love (45 Edit) (Columbia)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents:Soul Party Volume 1 – A Lot of Love

Greetings all!

Welcome to the 2015 Funky16Corners Alnighter and Pledge Drive.

This is the annual MP3 fete in which yours truly and a gathering of my favorite selectors present you with a series of brand new mixes (in a variety of styles) in the hope that you’ll dig deep and throw something in the pot for the Funky16Corners yearly operating budget (server space/bandwidth etc).

As always, Funky16Corners.com brings you new posts every week, as well as maintaining an archive with literally hundreds of mixes, as well as over 250 episodes of the Funky16Corners Radio Show Podcast.

This time out there are some killer mixes, which will spool out, one every weekday for the next few weeks.

I have created two brand new Northern Soul mixes for this year’s Allnighter, which will open and close the ceremonies.

This first mix, ‘Soul Party Vol1 – A Lot of Love’ packs a grip of my dance floor favorites into 45 minutes of pure listening pleasure. There are some old faves, some recent acquisitions, some long-time white whales finally harpooned, all of them upbeat and primed for the dancers in the crowd!

Over the next few weeks you will see a ton of new mixes from some of the best selectors out there, all new, all excellent and all ready to download.

Every day you’ll also see a Paypal/Donate button (see below) which you can click on to give to the cause!

So dig it, click on the Paypal button, and sit back and groove to the sounds from my friends Ben Gibson, DJ Prime Mundo, DJ Prestige, Tarik Thornton, Chris Lujan, Vincent the Soul Chef, DJ Bluewater, DJ RP of Funkedfy, and Heavy Soul Brutha!

Everyone that donates will get the 2015 premiums, including the new badge and a bumper sticker, as well as a ‘classic’ Funky16Corners sticker or two as long as supplies last!

See you tomorrow with a new mix by Ben Gibson!

Keep the Faith

– Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, June 11, 2015 10:58 am

The Cooperettes

Listen/Download – The Cooperettes – Everything’s Wrong

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which rolls into town each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app,or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

____________________________________________________________________

This coming Monday, 6/15 brings the beginning of the 2015 Funky16Corners Allnighter and Pledge Drive!
Things are getting underway a little later than usual this year, thanks to some family commitments as well as lining up some spectacular new mixes for your listening pleasure.

You’ll be digging mixes from old faves like Asbury 45 Sessions vets DJ Prestige, DJ Prime Mundo and DJ Bluewater, Tarik Thornton, DJ RP of Funkdefy, Vincent the Soul Chef, and Heavy Soul Brutha, as well as new 2015 contributors Chris Lujan (of the M-Tet and the Dirty Dirty Podcast) and Ben Gibson, all bookended by two brand new Northern Soul mixes by yours truly!

All contributors will receive the new 2015 Funky16Corners badge, as well as one (or more, as supplies last) of the groovy stickers you see above, as well as my eternal gratitude.

So get your ears ready!

____________________________________________________________________________

Today’s selection is yet another winner out of the Harthon galaxy of stars.

The Cooperettes discography is not long, but it is packed with winners.

Their ‘Shing-a-ling’ (also known in the unissued verion by Irma and the Fascinators as ‘You Need Love’) was one of the first big Northern 45s I tracked down back in the day, and it remains a favorite.

The group included the Cooper sisters, Janette, Debbie, Tina and Angie, and released a half dozen 45s between 1966 and 1969 for labels like Brunswick, ABC and IDB.

‘Everything’s Wrong’ was their second 45, released in early 1967 and was a minor local hit in Philadelphia.

A great, mid-tempo dancer, with a Shirelles feel to it (interesting since the tune was co-written by Wes Farrell, who penned ‘Boys’ for that group), ‘Everything’s Wrong’ is yet another one of those records that should have been a hit, but got lost in the pop tidal wave of 1967.

The Cooperettes had a second wave of popularity with the Northern Soul scene, when ‘Shing-a-ling’ was reissued in the UK in 1975.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 9, 2015 11:59 am

The Contours

Listen/Download – The Contours – Just a Little Misunderstanding

Greetings all.

Since the middle of the work week is approaching, I though it apt that I should smooth us all over the hump with one of my all-time favorite soul 45s.

The Contours, despite having made a grip of excellent records, and one of the biggest/best remembered soul hits of the 60s (‘Do You Love Me’) are something of an also-ran, which is in no way an artistic judgement, but rather the public perception.

Their work was of a consistently high quality, yet they labored in the shadow of the bigger Motown stars like the Temptations and the Four Tops.

They had eight R&B Top 40 hits between 1962 and 1967, with today’s selection, ‘Just a Little Misunderstanding’ their second-to-last hit, making it into the R&B Top 20 in June of 1966.

Co-written by Clarence Paul, Morris Broadnax and a youngster by the name of Stevie Wonder (who also plays drums on the record!), ‘Just a Little Misunderstanding’ is both a guaranteed dance floor killer, but also has enough pop hooks to stick in your ears.

The stylish lead vocal is by Joe Stubbs (brother of Levi) who had done time in the Falcons and went on to join 100 Proof Aged In Soul.

This would be Stubbs’ only lead vocal with the Contours, and he was soon replaced by Dennis Edwards (who would later join the Temptations).

‘Just a Little Misunderstanding’ re-entered the UK charts in 1970.

It is a very groovy record, and ought to have a place of honor in any soul DJ’s box.

I hope you dig it as much as I do, 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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, June 7, 2015 11:25 am

Listen/Download – The Stagemasters – Baby I’m Here Just To Love You

Greetings all.

The record you see before you this fine day hopped into my crates years ago during one of those stellar Allentown all-45 digging sessions.

I had never heard (or heard of) the Stagemasters, but the disc looked cool, so I gave it a spin on the portable and it went directly on the ‘keeper’ stack.

The ensuing years have revealed little about the group or their outstanding stomper of a 45.

Going with the information available on (and about) the label, the Stagemasters hailed from the Reading, PA area.

The Slide label was owned buy a cat named Lenny McKinnon, who also owned the Lorraine, Reading and Hit-Kingdom imprints.

‘Baby I’m Here Just To Love You’ was initially released in 1966 on Slide, then again in 1968 (with a different flipside) on Hit-Kingdom.

It is a storming floor-filler, opening with some very heavy rhythm guitar and bass, followed by a rough, wailing lead vocal and some groovy harmonies.

The record has the kind of relentless energy that the UK soulies dig so much, which is probably why it eventually got a bootleg pressing across the pond.

You can pick yourself up a copy of the Slide issue for between 20 and 30 bucks (for some reason the Hit-Kingdom pressing goes for well over 100 bucks).

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 4, 2015 12:14 pm

Ben Aiken

Listen/Download – Ben Aiken – If I Told You Once (I Told You a Million Times)

Listen/Download – Ben Aiken – You Were Meant To Be My Baby

Greetings all.

As the end of the week is near, allow me to remind you once again about the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which takes to the airwaves of the interwebs each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can keep up with the show by subscribing to it as a podcast in iTunes, listening on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or by grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

Also, all mixed are in-house, and the go date for this years’s Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive will be 6/15, with a new mix being posted every weekday for the next few weeks. This year you’ll get mixes from Ben Gibson (Mo’Soul), DJ Prime Mundo, DJ Prestige, Tarik Thornton, Chris Lujan, Vincent the Soul Chef, DJ Bluewater, DJ RP of Funkdefy, HeavySoulBrutha and of course, two new assemblages from my own crates!

There’s a groovy new badge for this year’s premium (and lots of stickers), so dial into the vault and get ready!

Today’s selection found its way into my crates via that old standby, brand loyalty.

I was out digging at a stoop sale, and though I had never heard of Ben Aiken before I put my hands on this 45, seeing the Loma label, and the name of the mighty Jerry Ragovoy, it moved immediately to the keeper pile, and came home with me.

Possessed of an Eddie Holman level tenor, with a sweet touch, and based in Philadelphia, Aiken recorded a string of 45s for labels like Squire, Roulette (he had his biggest success with his 1965 Roulette 45 ‘Stay Together Young Lovers’), Loma and Philly Groove between 1965 and 1972. I have also seen references that seem to indicate that he also sang with a number of other groups on Philly Groove during his time with the label.

‘If I Told You Once (I Told You a Million Times)’, written and produced by Ragovoy and arranged by Herb Bernstein was Aiken’s first 45 for Loma in 1967.

A classic Ragovoy ballad, ‘If I Told You Once…’ starts off slow and easy, but picks up a little steam with a really interesting key change in the bridge.

Aiken’s vocals are excellent, and the flip ‘You Were Meant to Be My Baby’ is a nice, upbeat dancer.

Once again, another excellent Jerry Ragovoy production is cast into the ether and inexplicably, all but ignored by the listening public.

As far as I can tell, you can only pick up Aiken’s Loma material on original 45s, or on the series of Loma reissue LPs that came out in the 70s. His later Philly Groove stuff is accessible on a Collectables CD.

I hope you dig the tracks, and I’l see you all next week.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.