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By Larry, October 28, 2012 12:42 pm

Jackie Shane on ‘Night Train’

Listen/Download – Jackie Shane – Any Other Way

Greetings all

Welcome to another week here at the home of digital soul.

We are under threat of what promises to be a nasty storm. Our hatches are battened, our larders filled with supplies, so keep your fingers crossed that the folks here on the East Coast make it to the other side of this one intact.

The tune I ring you today is one of those great discoveries that happens when you flip over a record expecting nothing and realize that what you’re hearing is the real “top” side of the disc.

If memory serves, my initial encounter with the story of Jackie Shane was a lucky accident.

Before I was fortunate enough to pick up the record you see before you today, I had only heard her voice via a single, blurry performance clip from the TV show ‘Night Train’.

Shane was, during the 1960s a popular club singer and recording artist, who was an out, gay/trans man who lived and performed as a woman.

She was nothing if not enigmatic.

Born and raised in Nashville, but with the bulk of her career spent North of the border in Canada, Shane had a life seemingly lifted from a screenplay.

Starting in the early 60s Shane recorded and performed R&B and soul based out of Toronto, CA . She layed down sides for a few different labels, often backed by Frank Motley (also an American) and the Hitchhikers (who went on to record some sought after funk records).

Shane performed in drag – though what little biographical information I’ve been able to turn up suggests that this was more than a drag persona, leaning more in the direction of a full time transgender life. That she was also openly gay (or as open as the times allowed) was – as my friend Jason Stone aka the Stepfather of Soul said in a 2007 post – unusual, but not unheard of, considering the careers of Little Richard, Esquerita and Sylvester.

Her cover of William Bell’s 1962 hit ‘Any Other Way’ – a significant Canadian hit, almost reaching Number One – was a fairly dramatic re-casting of the original.

Shane’s delivers the song’s lyrics – full of regret – in a much more melancholic setting. Where Bell’s approach is aggressive and upbeat (at least as far as the tempo is concerned) Shane’s is almost elegiac.

Though she delivers the song in its original gender, it’s hard not to read something into it (and I’m hardly the first to make note of this) when Shane sings:

Tell her that I’m happy
Tell her that I’m gay
Tell her I wouldn’t have it any other way

…the line seems to take on more meaning.

I initially grabbed this record for the version of ‘Sticks and Stones’ on the flip, but soon fell in love with this cut.

Shane’s discography is spare. Her 1963 recording of ‘In My Tenement’ (recorded a year before Roosevelt Grier’s version) is sought after by soul fans, as is a fantastic live record, which, though dated “Live ‘63” on the cover was clearly recorded a few years later, since it includes covers of songs that wouldn’t be released until 1966.

Once you’ve listened to her relatively small – yet undeniably powerful – catalog, it becomes obvious that Shane was a versatile and dynamic vocalist and performer.

She was a powerful soul shouter, but was also capable of something approaching fragility when working a ballad.

The cool thing is, though Shane’s records run from moderately rare right on into wallet-wrecking hen’s teethery, you can go on iTunes and grab a fairly comprehensive collection of her 45s and the ‘Live ‘63’ album for about six bucks each! I assure you in advance that this will be money well spent.

The singles are all excellent, and the live album is a revelation.

Shane was a bold, uncompromising stage performer, strong in voice and persona, and the Hitchhikers were an extra-tight backing band.

The album deserves to be much better known, and is worth having if only for the extended monologue during her cover of Barrett Strong’s ‘Money’.

Apparently Shane was still alive (though seemingly inactive as a performer) as late as 2010, having returned to her birthplace of Nashville, TN.

Make sure you check out the CBC radio documentary about Jackie Shane ‘I Got Mine: The Story of Jackie Shane’ over at Soundcloud.

I hope you dig the record, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday with some Halloween goodness.

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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, October 23, 2012 12:14 pm

Eddie Holman

Listen/Download Eddie Holman – I Surrender

Greetings all

Welcome to the mid-point of another week.

I figured that as long as we spent some time on Monday with a Northern Soul classic from the City of Brotherly Love, that we ought to do it again today.

I have gone on the record many times in the past about my admiration for the talents of the mighty Eddie Holman.

Though Holman is best known for his huge 1969 hit ‘Hey There Lonely Girl’, when you sit down and rap with soulies about the man the story becomes a lot longer and more interesting.

Holman recorded a grip of absolutely wonderful 45s before he signed with ABC at the end of the 60s, including Northern Soul classics like ‘Eddie’s My Name’ and ‘Stay Mine for Heaven’s Sake’ as well as epic ballads like ‘I Cry 1,000 Tears’ for labels like Cameo/Parkway and Bell, many under the aegis of the House of Harthon.

Holman was possessed of one of the most amazing voices of the classic soul era, as comfortable in a soaring tenor as he was in his more famous falsetto.

The song I bring you today comes from early in his ABC period, appearing on the b-side of his first 45 for that label in 1969.

‘I Surrender’ is unusual – at least for Holman’s tenure at ABC – in that it was an upbeat dancer in an otherwise ballad-heavy catalog.

Delivered (mostly) in Holman’s falsetto, the song has a stylish, horn and string-laden arrangement.

The song never charted in the US or the UK, but over the years it became a favorite on Northern Soul dance floors, so much so that the 45 is one of the more expensive discs he ever did, second only to ‘Eddie’s My Name’.

‘I Surrender’ was also issued in the UK on the Action label.

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

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, October 21, 2012 1:37 pm

The Show Stoppers

Listen/Download The Show Stoppers – Heartbreaker

Greetings all

Welcome to another week here at the Funky16Corners.

The tune I bring you today is from a lesser know chapter in one of the great Philadelphia soul groups of the 60s.

The Show Stoppers are best known for their epic ‘Ain’t Nothing But a House Party’, initially released in Philly on the Showtime label.

That tune is widely regarded as a killer, but most people – even soul fans – would be hard pressed to name another tune from that group’s catalog, which is unfortunate because there’s a lot of great stuff there.

Formed in the mid-60s by Alec and Laddie Burke – younger brothers of King Solomon himself – along with Earl Smith and Timmy Smith (also brothers) the Show Stoppers went on to record a trio of 45s for Showtime.

They hit the outer reaches of the Hot 100 in May of 1967 with ‘Ain’t Nothing But a House Party’, though the song was a huge hit in Philadelphia.

The Show Stoppers material would eventuallybe picked up and reissued in the US by Heritage records who took ‘Ain’t Nothing But A House Party’ back into the charts in 1968.

Almost a full year after their initial success, thanks to the group being picked up by Beacon Records in the UK, ‘Ain’t Nothing But a House Party’ (already gaining steam in UK soul clubs) entered the UK Top 40.

All of the groups US material – including the outstanding ‘What Can a Man Do’ and ‘How Can Your Heart Forget Me’ – went on to be issued in the UK on Beacon.

The Show Stoppers proved to be so popular in the UK that Beacon had them record more material (an additional seven tracks) that was only ever issued in that country.

The song I bring you today was released in the UK in June of 1968 with the funky US track ‘Shake Your Mini’ on the flipside.

‘Heartbreaker’ – written by Del Shahr (aka Carl Fisher of the Vibrations) is a storming slice of Northern Soul that once heard immediately brings up the question, ‘Why wasn’t this song released in the US?”.

The tune is a fast moving dancer with enough of a pop edge to get played on the radio as well.

‘Ain’t Nothing But a Houe Party’ became a Northern Soul standard, eventually re-entering the UK Top 40 (issued this time on MGM)  in January of 1971.

Despite several excellent singles, the Show Stoppers would break up a year later.

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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, October 16, 2012 3:37 pm

The Tams

Dobie Gray

Listen/Download The Tams – Untie Me

Listen/Download Dobie Gray – Rose Garden

Greetings all

The day of the hump is upon us, and so I feel that it behooves me to provide a soundtrack to push us all up and over the top.

Since his passing back in the beginning of September, I have been deeply involved in a rediscovery of the music of Joe South, through his own recordings and via other artists versions of his songs.

Though he is best known to most as a writer other people’s hits – folks like Billy Joe Royal, Lynn Anderson and the Tams – South was an incredibly solid artist in his own right. The records he made between 1968 and 1972 for Capitol are a remarkable mixture of soul, country, rock and even psychedelia that deserve a much bigger audience.

It was during the process of digging into those albums that I was amazed not only by South’s own versions of his most famous songs (I’d say without hesitation that his is the definitive version of the oft-recorded ‘Hush’) but also pleasantly surprised to discover that he had written a couple of songs that I already loved in versions by other artists (like the Tams ‘Shelter’ and Billy Harner’s ‘She’s Almost You’).

The two songs I bring you today are two more excellent, soulful covers of great Joe South songs.

The first, the Tams ‘Untie Me’ represents both that group’s first hit, as well as South’s initial success as a songwriter.

‘Untie Me’ scraped the edge of the R&B Top 10 in the Fall of 1962, and it’s not only a great song but a great record as well. Produced (and with piano) by Ray Stevens, ‘Untie Me’ struck me the first time I heard it as a perfect tune to be turned into a beat ballad. Once I did a little digging I discovered that it had indeed been covered by Manfred Mann in 1964.

The tune is a great showcase for a restrained vocal by the mighty Joe Pope, and the arrangement is fantastic.

The second cut today is something  previously unknown to me that I happened upon while digging.

I’ma huge fan of Dobie Gray’s mid-60s Charger sides, and certainly knew of his later hits, but had no idea that he had recorded three singles for the White Whale label in 1969 and 1970.

Among these was an excellent take on South’s ‘Rose Garden’, two full years before it would be turned into a mega-hit by Lynn Anderson.

Gray’s version is subtly funky – a little more so than South’s original – and sounds to me like the kind of record that should have been a pop hit (it does seem to have gotten some play in a few regional markets in the East and the South).

Given enough time, it wouldn’t be hard to put together a mix or two of Joe South covers, but these two will have to suffice for now.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

* Simtec and Wylie were having their hits for the Mr Chand label at the same time as the Krystal Generation, and Simtec Simmons very own T-Box’s band provides the backing on this 45
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, October 14, 2012 2:38 pm

The Shirelles

Listen/Download The Shirelles – Last Minute Miracle

Greetings all

Welcome to another week.

The air is suddenly a touch cooler (especially at night) and so the music I bring you shall also be (at least metaphorically).

The vinyl gods have been especially kind to me of late, whether digging via the interwebs, or out in the field.

I picked up some very groovy stuff this summer, and had an exceptional day at the Allentown All-45 Show a few weeks back.

I find these days that my digging style (if such a thing can be said to exist) has become more refined. This is due in part to it being hammered into shape by experience, but also by the fact that I often enter the fray with somewhat lighter pockets.

I find myself taking more time, returning a lot more stuff to the boxes that birthed them, and in the end taking home a much richer stack of vinyl.

This is not to say that I’m not taking any chances out in the trenches, but rather that by using my head, I take home a lot more diamonds and a lot less gravel.

I only mention this to whet your appetite for the records yet to come here at Funky16Corners.

Oddly enough, the record I bring you today came into my hands not through any field work, but rather through some lucky listening.

This summer a friend passed along about ten hours of vintage airchecks, some soul, some rock and pop.

If you listen to the Funky16Corners Radio Show you’ll already know that I’ve been mining these for all kinds of drops and vintage ads.

What I’ve also been picking up on is several groovy songs that I was either completely ignorant of, or had heard of, but never really heard before.

Today’s selection is one of the latter.

The Shirelles are one of those great groups that populate the transitional period of late R&B/early soul.

Though many people would classify them as part of the ‘girl group’ period, I’d say that many of their best records are unquestionably soul sides (i.e. ‘Baby It’s You’ and ‘Boys’, both covered by the Beatles).

What I did not know, is that the Shirelles, much like the Platters, were another “early” group that carried on making excellent records well into the “classic” soul era.

The remarkable ‘Last Minute Miracle’ is one of those.

The bulk of the Shirelles hits fall between 1960 and 1964, but they managed to hit the charts one last time (#41 R&B, #99 Pop) in 1967 with today’s selection.

Written by George Kerr and Gerald Harris (and originally recorded by Linda Jones  – at a faster tempo – on Loma), and arranged by Richard Tee, ‘Last Minute Miracle’ is one of those records that has ‘Northern Soul Anthem’ written all over it.

Marked by a propulsive dance beat, delicious pop hooks and a remarkable lead vocal by Shirley Alston-Reeves, ‘Last Minute Miracle’ moves from a hard-charging verse into a chorus that builds dramatically.

It is both exceptionally well-written and well-performed.

This is one of those records that after I heard it once, I knew I had to have it. It took me a little while to get myself a copy for my box, but when I did I listened to it over, and over again.

The record also sports an excellent flipside in ‘No Doubt About It’.

The Shirelles would continue to record for Scepter, Blue Rock, Bell and United Artists between 1968 and 1974 but ‘Last Minute Miracle’ was their last date with the charts.

I hope you dig – and dance to – this record, 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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, October 11, 2012 11:54 am

Dorothy Morrison performing at the Big Sur Pop festival

Listen/Download Dorothy Morrison – Rain

Greetings all

The end of another week is at hand and that means that once again the airwaves of the interwebs will be shot through with the sounds of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you are unable to join us at airtime, know that you can also subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes or pick up a straight MP3 download here at the blog.

This’ll be a quick one since I wrote most of what you need to know about Miss Dorothy Morrison last year when I posted her version of ‘Spirit In the Sky’.

The short version is that she was a San Franciso Bay area-based gospel singer (part of the Edwin Hawkins Singers of ‘Oh Happy Day’ fame) who also did a few years of secular recording.

The song I bring you today is ‘Rain’ from 1970 (there was also a promo/stereo release of this single in 1972).

On its own merits it is a rousing but of gospel-inflected soul with a great bass/percussion intro, gospel choir in the background and a lead by Miss Morrison herself.

it was co-produced by guitar wizard Lonnie Mack and arranged by Don Gallucci.

What takes this one from the level of interesting on its own merits to very interesting is the fact that it was a staple in David Mancuso’s highly influential Loft parties.

Mancuso included it ‘The Loft Vol 2’ mix released in 2000.

On its own ‘Rain’ might sound a little far removed from conventional ideas about dance floor classics, but it fits perfectly within the vibe of Mancuso’s Loft parties, where eclecticism was as important as danceablity.

I hope you dig the track 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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, October 9, 2012 1:39 pm

Listen/Download The Krystal Generation – Unsatisfied With the Merchandise

Greetings all

Welcome to the middle of another spectacular week.

The tune I bring you today came into my record box via a chance meeting at an unexpected record digging stop a few years back.

I was out with the fam, headed in the direction of some delicious Thai food and we found ourselves with a little time to kill in the vicinity of the old Highland Park Record Sale.

I managed to grab a couple of very cool things that day, and today’s selection was one of those.

Flipping through a box of 45s, I was compelled to stop when I spotted the smiling face of Gene Chandler on the Mr. Chand label, familiar to me via a couple of very tasty Simtec and Wylie* 45s already extant in my crates.

I had never heard of the Krystal Generation before, but since I’m always on the lookout for Chitown soul, and the price was right, I grabbed the record and took it home.

When I finally had a chance to give it a spin I discovered what sounded an awful lot like an attempt by Mr Chandler et al to capitalize on the success of the Honey Cone ( a group that had a number of hits, some of them substantial, for the Hot Wax label between 1969 and 1972.

The Krystal Generation – who actually grazed the R&B Top 50 with an even more blatant grab at the Honey Cone with 1971’s ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’- were a femme vocal ensemble featuring the talents of Joyce Smith, Darlene Arnold, Mary Shelley and Mary Lead.

‘Unsatisfied With the Merchandise’ a very groovy side on its own merits, displays all the marks of a serious attempt to replicate the Invictus/Hot Wax sound, both instrumentally and vocally.

The history of popular music is filled with examples – somemore successful than others – with acts trying to get ahead by “borrowing” the sound and style of another, and the Krystal Generation, though competent, were a pretty obvious example thereof.

‘Unsatisfied With the Merchandise’ falls a few catalog numbers after ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’, so I’d assume that it was either from late 1971 or early 1972.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

* Simtec and Wylie were having their hits for the Mr Chand label at the same time as the Krystal Generation, and Simtec Simmons very own T-Box’s band provides the backing on this 45
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 7, 2012 1:48 pm

Jo Armstead

Listen/Download Jo Armstead – I’ve Been Turned On

Greetings all

Welcome to another week here at Funky16Corners.

I thought it only fitting that we get things off to a start with something upbeat, a certified banger if you will.

Though I’d guess that a lot of you had seen the name Jo (or Joshie) Armstead before, I’d bet fewer of you had actually heard one of her records.

Armstead who was born in Mississippi worked locally until joining the Ike and Tina Turner Revue as an early Ikette.

She ended up in New York City in the mid-60s, where she met Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Together, the trio wrote both ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’ and ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’ for Ray Charles.

When Ashford and Simpson headed to Detroit to work for Motown, Armstead and her husband went to Chicago and formed Giant Records.

The Chicago-based Giant label (there were imprints with the same name in Detroit and Texas) issued five singles by Armstead as well as sides by Fenton Robinson, Wayne Bennett, and Little Jimmy Scott.

Armstead’s Giant sides are classics of late 60s soul, moving from fast moving Northern Soul like ‘I Feel an Urge Coming On’ (which I just this weekend scored a copy of!), sweet soul like ‘Stone Good Lover’ and slamming, funky heat like today’s selection ‘I’ve Been Turned On’.

Armstead was a powerful singer who had the added benefit of also being an outstanding songwriter.

‘I’ve Been Turned On’ has a killer arrangement by Mike Terry (is there anything he worked on that didn’t turn out amazing?) and a dynamite vocal by Armstead (those opening lines are breathtaking).

The records is a great example of how funky a record can be without moving into outright ‘funk’ territory. Though there are plenty of strings keeping things classy on top, you have to slap on the headphones and check out those drums. Whoever was playing the drums was working overtime on the kick drum.

‘I’ve Been Turned On’ is one of those 45s that is as good for dancing as it is for listening, so pull down the ones and zeros and do a little of both.

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.

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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (5)

By Larry, September 25, 2012 4:48 pm

Curtis Knight

Listen/Download Curtis Knight – Love-In

Greetings all

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well.

The tune I bring you today is something groovy from the slightly later, post-Jimi period of Curtis Knight’s career.

I was giving some thought to how it must have sucked for Knight to be known only via his intersection with Hendrix, but then I thought about how much energy he expended in attempting to capitalize on that connection, and forgot all about it.

Knight was working in NYC with his band the Squires when Hendrix, who had already taken part in what in retrospect seems like a marathon effort to make cameos in the careers of as many other performers as he could before breaking on his own.

As a live performer, Jimi worked stages alongside Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, the Isley Brothers, Carl Holmes and the Commanders, and in the studio with Lonnie Youngblood, Billy LaMont, Don Covay, King Curtis and many others.

He hooked up with Knight and the Squires when he finally landed in New York City in 1965. He recorded sessions with Knight (some legit, some jams) during ’65 and ’66, until he formed his own band, and was eventually spirited off to the UK by Chas Chandler.

Knight and his facilitators spent a lot of time repackaging pretty much anything he recorded with Hendrix (often deceptively), making a great deal of hay (and not a little money).

This is not to say that Knight was without talent himself. He had played and recorded in a variety of R&B, rock and soul settings through the 50s and 60s.

The tune I bring you today hails from a 1969, UK-only (?!?) 45 he recorded for RCA.

The record is an interesting microcosm of Knight as Hendrix mentor-turned-acolyte (parasite?), with a slightly psyched-out number ‘Fancy Meeting You Here’, complete with heavy guitar and echo appearing on the flipside.

The side of the disc we concern ourselves with today is the funky ‘Love In’.

The arrangement and production is very cool, with lots of wah-wah guitar, some oddly echoed horns, sassy female backing vocals and a great performance by Knight (I really dig the bridge too).

I’d love to know the story behind Knight getting a UK only record deal, though I have seen a few later LPs that seem to have only been released in Europe.

As it is, the vast majority of the records released with Curtis Knight’s name on them, had Jimi Hendrix’s right next to (or on top of, or under) it.

I hope you dig the cut, and I’ll see you 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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, September 23, 2012 11:25 am

Gil Scott-Heron

Listen/Download Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson – Johannesburg

Greetings all

I first heard Gil Scott-Heron, and today’s selection at exactly the same time, that being sometime after 11:30PM on Saturday night December 13, 1975.

How – you may ask – am I able to pinpoint the moment?

Well, my inquisitive friends, it is because both of these things entered my consciousness via an early episode of Saturday Night Live, broadcast (thanks to the interwebs for the info) on that very day, wherein the host of the show was none other than Richard Pryor.

I was a young lad of 13, but even then I knew a good groove when I heard it, and ‘Johannesburg’ is a good groove indeed.

Recorded – with his musical partner Brian Jackson – for the ‘From South Africa to South Carolina’ album, ‘Johannesburg’ was a call to arms about the apartheid regime years before it became a major cause celebre.

The performance on Saturday Night Live predated the release of the album by a month but the single had already been out, hitting the R&B Top 30 in October of 1975.

Gil is in rare form and the lyrics really hit home:

They tell me that our brothers over there
are defyin’ the Man
We don’t know for sure because the news we
get is unreliable, man
Well I hate it when the blood starts flowin’
but I’m glad to see resistance growin’
Somebody tell me what’s the word?
Tell me brother, have you heard
from Johannesburg?

Gil lays it down on electric piano and the rest of the band – especially the percussionists – is extra tight.

Scott-Heron placed a number of tunes in the R&B charts between 1975 and 1984, as well as appearing as part of the No Nukes concerts in 1979.

He continued to record, on and off for the rest of his life, spending much of that time in a tragic struggle with addiction and poor health.

He passed away in 2011.

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.

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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 20, 2012 2:00 pm

Joe Simon

Listen/Download Joe Simon Band – Oon-Guela (High Life) Pt1

Listen/Download Joe Simon Band – Oon-Guela (High Life) Pt2

Greetings all

The end of the week is within our grasp, which means that the Funky16Corners Radio Show (brought to you every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio) is nigh. Perk up your ears, dial up the old crystal set and drop by for the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from vinyl. If you cannot join me at the time of broadcast you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 download over at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a real gasser, hepped to me by my friend Don Waller, who sent it along on Facebook as a birthday wish.

Though I certainly knew of Joe Simon, I had no idea that there were any records released under the ‘Joe Simon Band’ name, and certainly nothing as crazy as today’s selection.

‘Oon-Guela (High Life) Pts 1&2’ was released in 1969, and it is like nothing else in the Joe Simon catalog.

What you get here is an amped up take on the Afro funk sound, with lots of hard-edged, funky guitar, percussion (there’s either a kalimba or something trying to sound like one running under the whole record) and bass that almost crosses over into psychedelic territory a few times.

This really is an unusual record, especially considering when it came out (not a whole lot of Afro anything, aside from Hugh Masekela) and that it was released in association with Joe Simon.

Simon had a long string of R&B and Pop hits from 1965 to 1981, hitting R&B #1 a few times (including once in 1969 with his version of the country standard ‘The Choking Kind’, which fell only a few catalog numbers below this very record).

‘Oon Guela (High Life)’ is waaay out of (sonic) character for Simon which leads one to wonder, what – in fact – would be the dealio.

I have not been able to discover that fact, and am currently happy just to groove on the sound of the record.

It is both groovy, and anomalous.

If anyone has anything to add, please do so in the comments.

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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 11, 2012 2:10 pm

Pat Rhoden

Listen/Download Pat Rhoden – Living For the City

Greetings all

It’s been a while since we addressed things in a reggae stylee here, and since I had something warming up in the on-deck circle, I thought it wise to whip it on you.

I first featured the sounds of Pat Rhoden about a year and a half ago, and – oddly enough – it was also a cover of a Stevie Wonder tune, in that case ‘Boogie On Reggae Woman’.

As someone who’s always on the lookout for reggae/rock steady covers of US soul material, finding that first record was a treat. Happening upon today’s selection in the months afterward was a double secret irie treat indeed.

Rhoden was a singer who, though he recorded more than a little, seems to have receded into the mists of time.

He waxed sides for Ska Beat, Trojan, Attack and Horse from the 1960s on, as well as recording as half of the duo Winston and Pat (with the mighty Winston Groovy).

He recorded his version of ‘Living For the City’ in 1974 (Stevie took the OG to Number One in November of 1973).

Opening on an odd beat (but dropping into the reggae in short order), Rhoden’s version is slower than Wonders, but plenty funky.

I really dig the electric piano bed (there’s some acoustic piano in there too) running underneath everything and Rhoden’s vocal is very groovy.

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.

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).

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.