Comments (8)

By Larry, June 17, 2012 4:24 pm

Greetings all.

Welcome to the third annual Funky16Corners Pledge Drive/Allnighter!

Though we’ve been doing the Pledge Drive thing since2006, the Allnighter concept first rolled out in 2010, with several hours of mixes by some of the finest selectors I know.

This year we have most of the usual suspects, including several Asbury Park 45 Sessions alumni, as well as my man Tony C from the UK and Tarik Thornton.

The sounds run the gamut of classic soul, funk, reggae, rock steady, old school Hammond 45s and all connective points in between.

If you read the blog on the reg you already know that the past year has been an exceptionally challenging one here.
It wouldn’t be reaching to state that keeping Funky16Corners (and Iron Leg) up and running had a lot to do with maintaining my sanity over the last eight months.

There’s something to be said for keeping a small island of creative stability afloat during a crisis, and that’s what the blog has been.

Much of that has – as always – come from the interchange with the readers, listeners, fellow vinyl travelers, and DJs. Your contributions, whether informational, conversational, sometimes monetary or sometimes all of the above, have kept Funky16Corners rolling along.

This November will mark the 8th anniversary of the blog (something akin to 800 internet years!) and creating and running the blog has become a big part of my life. Through it I’ve learned a great deal, met many incredibly cool people and gotten to DJ in many, many cool places.

The Pledge Drive aspect of this yearly event is an important one.

Funky16Corners – all of the text, graphics and sound files – resides on paid server space, a bill that comes due around this time every year. Your donations help pay for that.

Blogging has always been an ephemeral pursuit, partly because not everyone has the interest in keeping one going for very long, but also because it rarely rises above the level of a casual pursuit for most people. They start a blog, post most files temporarily and depart as soon as their interest wanes.

Funky16Corners may very well have gone the way of most blogs (I don’t know the actual percentage of music blogs that last more than a year, but anecdotally I’d guess that it’s below 10%) but after getting it rolling (with a slightly different format) in 2004, and changing platforms twice (finally ending up with the self-hosting WordPress model) I think we have at long last settled into lasting form.

The basic format of how I communicate with the audience through the blog has always remained fairly constant, with a pictures and labels (what the vinyl nerds of the world know as record porn) and some written context to tie it all together.

Along the way, the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast mixes worked their way into the flow, then the actual Funky16Corners Radio Show (Friday nights at 9PM on Viva Radio and then archived here) and then in 2010 the Funky16Corners Soul Club/Allnighters so I could present mixes by other selectors.

What we have now, in the middle of 2012 is –including this year’s Allnighter mixes – close to 150 mixes and another 110 episodes of the radio show on-line for your (and my) listening pleasure.

And my friends, pleasure is what it’s all about; the pleasure that great music, some rare, some not so rare, can bring to those willing to open their ears.

That’s why I do it, and as always, I hope you dig it.

If you do, and you can afford to, please click on the Paypal link and drop a few coins in the basket.

There’ll be stickers for everyone that donates.

So, I’ll offer you my thanks once again, and hopefully we’ll all be together again this time next year for more of the same.

Keep the Faith
Larry

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CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

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Funky16Corners Presents: Tear It Up
Billy Wade and the 3rd Degrees – Tear It UP Pt1 (ABC)
Alvin Cash and the Scott Bros Orchestra – Keep On Dancing Pt2 (Toddlin’ Town)
Jerry-O – Funky Four Corners (White Whale)
Gunga Din – Snake Pit (Valise)
Lou Donaldson – Say It Loud (Blue Note)
James Young and the Housewreckers – Barking Up the Wrong Tree (Jet Stream)
Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers – Raw Funky (Tower)
Syl Johnson – Annie Got Hot Pants Power Pt2 (Twinight)
African Echoes – Big Time (Phil LA of Soul)
Bill Cosby – I Luv Myself Better Than I Luv Myself (Capitol)
Bobby Byrd – Keep On Doin’ What You’re Doin’ (Brownstone)
Lonnie Youngblood – African Twist Pt1 (Loma)
Little Sonny – Sonny’s Bag (Revilot)
Jimmy ‘Mr Motion’ Lynch – There Was a Time Pt1 (La Val)
Juggy – Buttered Popcorn (Sue)
Creative Funk – Funk Power (Creative Funk)
Freddy King – Funky (Cotillion)
Billy Wade and the 3rd Degrees – Tear It Up Pt2 (ABC)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners – Tear It Up!
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DJ Bluewater – Merritones
The Zodiacs Walk On By
The Ethiopians Miss Nora
Merritone Singers House Upon The Hill
The Renegades Mr. Hops
Don Henry As Long As I Live
Joe Higgs You Hurt My Soul
The Untouchables I Do Love You
The Renegades Big And Fine
Henry Buckley If I Am Right
The Untouchables Mackie Mackie
The Dynamites If You Did Love Me
Roland Alphonso Sounds Of Silence
Lyn Taitt and The Jets Why Am I Treated So Bad
Roland Alphonso Stranger For Durango
Henry Buckley Thank You Girl
The Tartans It’s Not Right
Eddie Perkins I’m Coming Home
Hopeton Lewis Everybody Rocking
Tomorrow’s Children Bang Bang Rock Steady
The Tartans Rolling Rolling

Listen/Download DJ Bluewater – The Merritone Hour
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DJ Prestige – Hotter Fire

Big Youth – Hotter Fire/Negusa Negast Records
Tapper Zukie – Woman Ah No Me Trouble/ Mobiliser
Success All Stars – Doctor Satan Echo Chamber/ Striker Lee
Augustus Pablo – Fat Girl/ Echo Records
Winston Groovy – Dancing Shoes/ Pioneer International
Barrington Levy – Time Hard/ Puff Records
Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse/ African Museum (Disco 45)
Marcia Griffiths – Feel Like Jumping/ High Note
Joy White – Tribulation/ Joe Gibbs International
Dennis Brown – Jah Can Do It/ Joe Gibbs International
Jackie Mittoo – Revolting Rockers/ Third World Records
Rockers All Stars – Fire Dub/ Rockers International

Listen/Download DJ Prestige – Hotter Fire
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Tony C – 45 Heaven
Queen City Soul Band-True Patron Of The Arts-Pow
Freddie Scott-I’ll Be Gone-Shout
Betty Everett-Too Hot To Hold-Veejay
Fred Hughes-I Keep Tryin’-Ex
Little Flint-Pain-Beast
Larry Williams-Boss Lovin’-Smash
Garnett Mimms-Prove It To Me-U.A
Gene Chandler-Mr Bigshot-Constellation
Otis Williams-Aint Gonna Walk Your Dog No More-Okeh
Wilson Pickett-Baby Call On Me-Double L
Moss Tolbert-Money In My Pocket-Veejay
Jimmy Ricks-Daddy Rollin’ Stone-Atco
Georgie Fame-Green Onions-Columbia
Solomon Burke-Peepin’-Atlantic
JJ Barnes-Wont You Let Me Know-Rich
Pearl Woods-Right Now-Charge
Jackie Wilson/Linda Hopkins-Say I do-Brunswick
Big Boy Myles-She’s So Fine-V.Tone
B.B.King-Heartbreaker-Bluesway
Peppermint Harris-Wait Until It Happens To You-Jewel
James Duncan-Too Hot To Hold-King
Anna King-Mamas Got A Bag Of Her Own-End
Little Oscar-Two Foot Drag-Toddlin Town
Seven Souls-Groove In-Venture
Patriza&Jimmy-Trust Your Child-ALA
Smokey Brooks-Spin Jig It-Now
Rodger Collins-Foxy Girls In Oakland-Galaxy
Al Reed-94/44/100 Pure Love-Axe
Roland Alphonso-Hip Hug Her-JJ
Eddie Holland-Gotta Have Your Love-Motown
Little Willie John-You’re Welcome To Try-V.R.C
Grady Tate-All Around The World-Skye

Listen/Download Tony C – 45 Heaven

A word from Tony: This is my third year of supplying a mix for the pledge drive and as always it is an honour and a pleasure to be asked by Larry to particiipate.Especially with the great line up of DJ’s sharing their quality tunes.”45 Heaven” is a collection of 45s ,with the exception of one LP track that I have aquired over the last year or so.I have tried to include a bit of everything that I enjoy listening to. Hope you do too.

Cheers TonyC.
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Tarik Thornton – Getting the Corners
1.Sweet Delights- Baby Be Mine – ATCO
2.Jay Rhythm- Soul Emotion- Leo
3.T.S.U. Tornados- The Goose- Atlantic
4.Syl Johnson- I Feel The Urge – Twinight
5.Dell Ingrid – Try It You’ll Like It- Ultra-Class
6.Johnnie Mae Matthews – Momma Didn’t Lie- Big Hit
7.Maurice Mckinnies and the Fabulous Champions – Sock – A – Poo Poo Pt.2 – Black & Proud
8.Count Rockin Sidney – Do You Stuff – Gold Band
9. Ernest Thomas – Soul Time- International
10.Boogie Kings- Do Em All- Pic 1
11.Bobby Rush- Let All Hang Out- Salem
12.Dennis Lee- Do The Funky Penguin- Jenmark
13.O.D. Williams – Funky Belly- Bar Bare
14.Isaac Clark- Do The Dog Funk- Miro
15.Willie Tee- Funky Funky Twist- Gatur
16.George Holmes- Panama- Carol
17.Hamilton Movement – Having A Set- Look- Out
18.Louis Villery- Black Water Gold- Soul Power
19.Jesse Green – Flip- Red Bus Tempo
20.Donald Byrd- Change- Blue Note
21 Young & Holt Unlimited – Black & White- Cotillion

Listen/Download Tarik Thornton – Getting the Corners
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DJ Prime Mundo – Prime Cuts
gene harris/the three sounds – hey girl (blue note)
melvin sparks – if you want my love (westbound)
johnnie taylor – love in the streets (stax)
jackie edwards – oh manio (direction)
rhetta hughes – sooky (tetragrammaton)
john gibbs & the unlimited sound of steel orchestra – shaft (makossa)
gabor szabo – gypsy ’66 (impulse)
jon lucien – would you believe in me (rca)
osibisa – kotoku (warner bros)
the festivals – checkin’ out (blue rock/mercury)
shall we dance – somebody’s baby (hoctor)
freddy king – funky (cotillion)
giorgio – lord releaseme (dunhill)
delegation – oh honey (state)

Listen/Download DJ Prime Mundo – Prime Cuts
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M-Fasis: ROUND TRIP TICKET: excursions into funk, soul, rock and back’…
1)Paul Revere- Beastie Boys ‘MCA R.I.P. (Def Jam)
2)Down in Black Bottom- Cannonball Adderley Quintet (Capitol)
3)Scuze Uz Y’all- Brenda & The Tabulations (Top and Bottom)
4)Mean Black Snake- J.W. Alexander (Thursh)
5)L.C. Funk- Lee Williams (Rapda)
6)Midnight Flower- The Four Tops (Dunhill)
7)Sweetback- Viola Wills (Supreme)
8)Ready or Not- Delfonics (Bell)
9)Mississippi Foxhole- Midnight Movers (Buddah)
10)You’re the Fool- Three Degrees (Roulette)
11)It’s Amazing- Johnny Taylor (Stax)
12)The Stretch- Detroit Sex Machines (Soul Track)
13)Synthetic Substitution- Melvin Bliss (Sunburst)
14)Too Hot To Hold- Tina Turner (Pompeii)
15)I’m Unconscious- Sugarcane Harris (Epic)
16)Down to the Nightclub- Tower of Power (Warner)
17)Wish you’d Never Been Born- Jodo (Decca)
18)Hard Times- Zoo (Riviera)
19)You Made Me a Believer- Ruby Andrews (Zodiac)
20)What Time It Is- General Crook (Down to Earth)
21)Light My Fire- Rhetta Hughes (Tetragrammaton)
22)El Paso County Jail- The Happenings (Jubilee)
23)And Then There Was…- Cozy Powell (RAK)
24)Utica Club Natural Carbonation Band- Natural Carbonation (RCA)
25)Vitamin C- Can (UA)
26)Keep Him- Barbara Mason (Artic)
27)You Can’t Blame Me- Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum… (Capsoul)
28)Fire and Rain- Ice (Cindri)
29)Un Sueno- Los Terricolas (Discolando)
30)Piu Nessuno Al Campo- Gli Uh! (Kansas)
31)All This- Barbara Jean English (Alithia)

Listen/Download M-Fasis – Round Trip Ticket
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Funky16Corners Presents: Greasy Spoon
The Poets – Devil’s Den Pt1 (Try Me)
Freddie Roach – Next Time You See Me (Blue Note)
David Rockingham Trio – Bee Dee (Josie)
Bill Doggett – Afternoon Jump (King)
Freddy Robinson and Tall Paul Hankins – The Buzzard (Queen)
Gene Ludwig – Mr Fink Pt2 (La Vere)
Delegates – Pigmy Pt1 (Pacific Jazz)
Johnny Hammond Smith – The Stinger (Prestige)
Hank Marr – The Greasy Spoon (Federal)
Russell Evans and the Nite Hawks – The Bold (Atco)
Timmy Thomas – Liquid Mood (Goldwax)
Charlie Nesbit Organ Trio – Triple-O-Soul (Salvador)
Groove Holmes – Groove’s Groove (Prestige)
Baby Face Willette – Roll’em Pete (Argo)
Beverly Pitts – Just Some Soul (Soul Shot)
Butch Cornell Trio – Here ‘Tis Now (Ru-Jac)
James Brown – Shades of Brown (King)
Jimmy McGriff – MG Blues (Sue)
Larry Young Jr Quartette – Groove Street Pt1 (Prestige)
Merl Saunders – I Pity the Fool (Galaxy)
Shirley Scott – Sister Sadie Pt1 (Prestige)
Tall Paul Hankins – My Boo-Ga-Loo (Pop Up)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners – The Greasy Spoon – Hammond organ 45s from the old school
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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, June 12, 2012 1:04 pm

Esther Phillips

Listen/Download Esther Phillips – Use Me

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is here and with all the details in place, must inform you that the Funky16Corners 2012 Pledge Drive/Allnighter is a go!

We have eight new mixes from all of your Funky16Corners faves, including Tony C, DJ Prestige, Tarik Thornton, DJ Bluewater, M-Fasis, DJ Prime Mundo and yours truly.

Things will get going this coming Monday, so get your ears and your hard drives humming because you’re in for a treat.

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The tune I bring you today is a groovy cover of a groovy original, which in the end is (very) groovy.

Redundancy aside, if you’re not hip to Esther Phillips, may I suggest you get so.

I remember first hearing (seeing) her as a musical guest in the early days of Saturday Night Live (actually the fourth episode of the first season) performing her then Top 20 hit of the old standard ‘What a Diff’rence a Day Makes’.

Years later, when I started digging for soul 45s I was surprised to see her name pop up in an earlier context with one of her 60s-era Lenox 45s with Big Al Downing.

It was only (much) later that I discovered that by the time she hit SNL she had been recording (and hitting the charts) for a quarter of a century.

Discovered by none other than Johnny Otis, Phillips had her first R&B hit in 1950 with ‘Double Crossing Blues’.

She had a run on the charts that lasted until 1952, then disappeared for nearly a decade, charting again (sporadically) during the 60s.

One of the reasons Phillips’ career contained those gaps was her long-term battle with drug addiction.

She recorded through the 60s for Atlantic and Roulette, before landing at Kudu in 1972 (which is where we pick up the story).

Phillips recorded her cover of Bill Withers’ hit ‘Use Me’ on her 1972 album ‘Alone Again, Naturally’.

I picked up the album because I always grab Kudu stuff whenever I find it, but I was unprepared for how cool her version of ‘Use Me’ was.

The understated drums (Billy Cobham) and electric piano (Richard Tee), in contrast with her distinctive voice and the interjections of the horn section make for an extremely cool interpretation of the tune.

The arrangement, by Pee Wee Ellis is spot on.

As far as I can tell, though Phillips hit the R&B Top 40 a few times around this period, this particular cut, despite its obvious quality, did not.

Phillips’ struggles with drugs continued for the rest of her life and she passed away, not yet 50 in 1984.

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

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.

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).

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, June 10, 2012 12:50 pm

Mr Ted Taylor

Listen/Download Ted Taylor – (Love Is Like a) Ramblin’ Rose

Greetings all and welcome to another week at the vinyl ranch.

I should get things started by updating you on the 2012 Pledge Drive/Allnighter.

The mixes are coming in, and we have some hot ones for you this year, including some heavy funk, reggae, old school Hammond, rock steady, mod soul and more, from all the usual suspects.

The launch date – barring any disasters – should be Monday 6/18, so strap yourselves in.

Today I’m going to launch/modify a feature that I used here and at Iron Leg) in the past, i.e. the ‘Twin Spin’, presenting two different, yet complimentary versions of a particularly hot song, on both blogs simultaneously.

Here at Funky16Corners you get the soul side, over at Iron Leg, the garage side, both sides hot and tasty!

The song in question is one that ought to be familiar, but from a third, completely different source.

‘(Love Is Like a) Ramblin’ Rose’ was first recorded by no less a light than Jerry Lee Lewis in 1962.

However, the first place most people had it slip into their ear-holes was in the stomic blast of the MC5‘s 1969 LP ‘Kick Out the Jams’, where it was the opening cut.

Now, when I was an impressionable teenager, and first heard the mighty Motor City Five let loose with the double axe-attack of Sonic Smith and Brother Wayne Kramer (BROTHER WAYNE KRAMER!!!) and then Wayne whips out that crazy falsetto, I must be truthful and say that I was left dizzy (mainly from banging my head).

I had no idea that the song was in fact a cover, until a few years later when I picked up an import Jerry Lee Lewis comp and right there – at a slightly slower pace – is the very same song.

“Well hows about that?” says I, continuing on my merry way.

It wasn’t until many years after that, that I found out that the version of the song that inspired the MC5 was dropped by a cat by the name of Ted Taylor in 1965.

Ted Taylor was born in Oklahoma, but headed west as an adult where he hooked up with the Cadets/Jacks (though does not appear on the famed ‘Stranded In the Jungle’) and went on to record for a number of labels from the late 50s to the 70s, but mainly for Okeh and Ronn.

Taylor was possessed of an unusual (and occasionally unnerving) falsetto, a righteous conk and a pencil ‘stache that rivaled that of the mighty Little Richard.

He recorded ‘(Love Is Like a) ‘Ramblin’ Rose’ in Nashville, under the masterful ear of producer Billy Sherrill.

The Taylor version of ‘Ramblin’ Rose’ is nothing short of epic, and in its own way manages to take the same reckless power that the MC5 would use to light up the song and present it in a more polished (and ultimately more powerful) fashion.

Sherrill’s production is booming, and the guitar – I wish I knew who was playing – is as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon, especially that opening, sliding note. I’d go as far to say that there’s a touch of country in that guitar sound which helps make Taylor’s version so distinctive.

Interestingly, the song was originally credited to writers Marijohn Wilkin* and Fred Burch, but at some point in the process (that being the Ted Taylor 45) the name of Obrey Wilson was suddenly appended to the writing credits.

Wilson was a soul singer himself, who was also working with Sherrill in Nashville during 1964 and 1965. I’m hard pressed to see what he added to the song that required a writing credit. Though the Lewis OG was slower and more menacing (It was Jerry Lee, after all…) the basic song structure is the same.

Of course, back in the olden days, people (DJs, producers, label owners, publishers etc) were getting their names slapped on other people’ songs all the time but I can’t figure out where Wilson fits into the puzzle.

That said, Ted Taylor’s ‘Ramblin’ Rose’, a disc that I chased for years** and eventually scored for less than a Jackson, is a brilliant record.

Hop on over to Iron Leg to dig into a garage version of the tune.

See you later in the week.
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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.

Keep the faith

Larry

*Wilkin was a master tunesmith, writing songs like ‘Long Black Veil’ and ‘Cut Across Shorty’

** Oddly, ‘(Love Is Like a) Ramblin’ Rose’ is not a particularly rare or expensive disc (it seems to hover between 30 and 50USD) but it was very hard (at least for me) to find a copy.

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 (2)

By Larry, June 5, 2012 5:13 pm

Johnny Williams

Listen/Download Johnny Williams – Slow Motion Pt1

Greetings all.

Now here’s an odd one (not the record, but the story).

A while back one of my Facebook friends posted a Soul Train clip to illustrate a dance step, and after that part of the clip, Don Cornelius introduced another song.

It’s a good thing I stuck around for the tune (and that Don mentioned the name of the singer) because it was very cool indeed.

The singer was Johnny Williams, and the song was the cut I bring you today, ‘Slow Motion’.

This is another great example of how a song can graze the R&B Top 10, but not really make any noise at all on the Pop side of things.

When ‘Slow Motion’ hit in 1972 I was listening to the radio – at least the AM side of the dial – quite a bit, but when I heard the song in the aforementioned clip, I had no recollection of it whatsoever.

My first instinct was that this funky gem was a southern soul cut, but the tiniest bit of research revealed that the song had been written and produced by Gamble and Huff in Philadelphia!

I haven’t been able to find much info on Johnny Williams, other than that he recorded for a couple of labels (Chess, Cub, Twinight) before making it to Philadelphia International.

The Billboard R&B chart book mentions that he moved from his native Alabama to Chicago in the mid-50s and sang gospel, but not much else.

‘Slow Motion’ opens with some heavy drums and a soulful grunt from Johnny, before the band kicks in. The smooth electric piano underpinning and the stylish horns are the only hints that this might be a Gamble/Huff jawn.

Though Williams recorded a few more sides for PI, he failed to hit the charts again, and passed away in 1986.

‘Slow Motion’ is included in the recent boxed set of Tom Moulton/Philadelphia International remixes.

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

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.

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).

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 (2)

By Larry, June 3, 2012 11:50 am

Leroy Hutson and a ladyfriend in 1973

Listen/Download Sugar and Spice – Ah Hah Yeah

Greetings all.

The preparations for the Funky16Corners 2012 Pledge Drive/Allnighter are coming together nicely with some very groovy mixes on tap. Things should get rolling in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for more details.

The track I bring you today is something I picked up on a hunch while out digging.

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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.

___________________________________________________________________________

I’d never heard of Sugar and Spice or the song ‘Ah Hah Yeah’, but a certain name on the label piqued my curiosity, so I grabbed it and took it home.

When I got to Googling it turned out that my hunch was correct, and the the arranger ‘L. Hutson’ was singer Leroy Hutson, who also happened to be a member of the group.

If the name Leroy Hutson is familiar to you, it may be because he was the man who replaced Curtis Mayfield in the Impressions in 1971.

He also went on to a solo career through the 70s and 80s, hitting the R&B charts a dozen times between 1973 and 1979 while on the Curtom label.

Hutson grew up in NJ, eventually attending Howard University in Washington, DC where he met (and roomed with) none other than Donny Hathaway.

He followed Hathaway to Chicago where they recorded as members of the Mayfield Singers.

Hutson was joined in Sugar and Spice by singer Deborah Rollins, with whom he recorded ‘Ah Hah Yeah’ in 1968 for the Kapp label.

The tune is a very tasty slice of funky soul, with a great opening bass line, some tight drums and great duet harmonies from Hutson and Rollins.

The producers credit for Guy Draper leads me to believe that this is a Chicago 45.

I haven’t heard any of the other Sugar and Spice 45s but I will be on the lookout for them.

I hope you dig the tune and I’ll be back later in the week.

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).

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (6)

By Larry, May 29, 2012 2:12 pm

Send Me Some Cornbread!

Listen/Download Russell Evans and the Nite Hawks – Send Me Some Cornbread

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is upon us and since it’s sunny and hot outside I thought I’d toss something greasy on the grill.

I first heard ‘Send Me Some Cornbread’ a while back when one of my many DJ friends posted a Youtube clip online.

It was another one of those “where has this record been and where can I get me one” things and though it took me a couple of months to put my mitts on a copy that was both playable and cheap, I finally did, so here it is.

There’s just this one thing…that being, no matter how hard I try, I cannot unearth a speck of info on this record, other than when it was released.

Interestingly, the sole 45 by Russell Evans and the Nite Hawks was released both in the US (the Atco copy you see here) and in the UK on Atlantic in the summer of 1966.

‘Send Me Some Cornbread’ is a soulful good time, with some fantastic gut bucket guitar, organ and a slightly wild chorus chanting the word ‘cornbread’ over and over again (much to my delight, I might add).

The flip, ‘The Bold’ is a tasty organ instro that will soon appear in an upcoming mix.

There are plenty of listing on the interwebs for this record, but little else to explain how someone capable of making such a groovy record could fade so deeply into the void.

I can’t find any trace of this record in Atlantic Records sessionographies,which suggests to me that it was picked up whole and issued by Atlantic/Atco from another source, but that’s just an educated guess.

The lyrics mention New York City, but that could signify nothing at all. If anyone has any info on Mr Evans and/or his Nite Hawks, please let me know.

That all said, ‘Send Me Some Cornbread’ is the kind of record that I absolutely live for, and I only wish there were more.

I hope you dig it as much as I do, and I’ll see you on Friday.

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).

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (7)

By Larry, May 20, 2012 1:27 pm

Freddie Scott

Listen/Download Freddie Scott – (You) Got What I Need

Greetings all.

I hope all is well in your corner of the universe.

I thought  – after what turned out to be an entire week of obituaries – we’d get the new week off to a killer start with a record that I chased for a long time.

There can hardly be a person left on the face of the earth who hears the opening bars of ‘(You) Got What I Need’ and doesn’t immediately think ‘Biz Markie!’

However, there are without a doubt a large portion therein who cannot follow that thought with the name of the original recording artist,  Freddie Scott.

I love playing this record for people whose eyes light up with the opening, and then get even wider when they hear an unfamiliar voice and song follow.

When Biz Markie hit in 1989 with ‘Just a Friend’ it’s hard to imagine that many of his contemporaries (other than the DJs) had any idea at all about the sample source.

Though Freddie Scott had a Top 40 R&B hit with ‘You Got What I Need’ in 1968 (the second to last hit in a chart run that started in 1963 with ‘Hey Girl’), the record did not subsequently find a spot in the rotation of oldies radio. His music was strictly the purvey of soul collectors and members of an older generation when the Diabolical Biz Markie slapped on a powdered wig and let loose.

As groovy as the Biz was (is) the really cool thing is, when you sit down and give the Freddie Scott OG a good listen and realize what a fantastic record it is.

Then you take a look at the label and get your second surprise, that being that ‘You Got What I Need’ was written and produced by none other than the mighty Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff!

Though Gamble and Huff had written and produced a grip of amazing local Philly stuff, when Bert Berns handed Scott over to them they had only had one national hit, 1967’s ‘Expressway To Your Heart’ by the Soul Survivors (the Intruders ‘Cowboys to Girls’ would hit the charts only a few months before ‘You Got What I Need’).

Scott had hit the R&B and Pop charts more than half a dozen times in five years. He had moved from Colpix/Columbia to Shout in 1966.

‘You Got What I Need’ manages to be both tuneful and funky (dig those drums), and a great showcase for both Scott’s voice and Gamble and Huff’s producing/arranging talents.

I’m surprised that the record didn’t make a bigger dent in the charts, but following Bert Berns’ death in late 1967, Freddie Scott would only record one more 45 for the label.

He went on to record briefly for Probe, and then Mainstream, but my the mid-70s had moved on to writing advertising jingles.

He passed on in 2004.

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

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).

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, May 16, 2012 4:20 pm

Chuck Brown

Listen/Download Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers – Bustin’ Loose Pt1

Greetings all.

Well….

A crappy week just got even worse with word coming down that the mighty Chuck Brown, longtime DC fixture and the Godfather of Go Go had passed away at the age of 75.

Though he is known to most for heat like the Soul Searchers’ uber-break/mega-sample ‘Ashley’s Roachclip’  (featured here back in 2008, I just reactivated the link) Brown was bringing the funk from the 1960s (the early Soul Searchers recorded a fantastic, and rare cover of James Brown’s ‘There Was a Time’) , first backing other artists before forming the Soul Searchers.

It was with that band that he recorded a couple of outstanding albums for Sussex, ‘We the People’ (1972) and ‘Salt of the Earth’ (1974).

The Soul Searchers hit the R&B Hot 100 five times (many of those in the Top 40) between 1972 and 1975, and then again in 1978 with the hot biscuit I bring you today, ‘Bustin Loose Pt1’ which made it all the way to Number One (hitting the outer edges of the Pop Top 40 as well).

The cut is a burner from start to finish, and might be familiar to some of the younger heads from its recent appearance in a commercial for chocolate chip cookies.

Chuck Brown was a master, and he will be missed.

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).

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, May 3, 2012 1:25 pm

Joe Bataan (center)

Listen/Download Joe Bataan – Es Tu Cosa (It’s Your Thing)

Greetings all.

The end of another week is upon us, and it behhoves me to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and very Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, followed the next day, posted in MP3 form right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a very groovy, very laid back slice of Latin soul.

I will go ahead and assume that you’re all familiar with the mighty Afro-Filipino singer and bandleader Joe Bataan.

He has appeared in this space a few times in the past (vocally and instrumentally) and is unquestionably one of the kings of the classic era of Latin soul.

Today’s selection is a particularly interesting number as it touches on a few different musical strands (if you will).

‘Es Tu Cosa (It’s Your Thing)’ is (and isn’t) a ‘cover’ of the hugely influential 1969 single by the Isley Brothers.

Though it bears no musical relation to the Isley’s tune (it sounds a lot closer to the laid back groove of Willie Bobo’s ‘Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries’), it does pretty much quote the lyrics of that song’s chorus.

The lyrics do eventually diverge from the Isley’s tune, and the overall effect suggests an after-hours club in Spanish Harlem, replacing the lively funk of that song with a relaxed soul.

When I first got my hands on this 45 I gave it a fair amount of thought.

As I said before, the Isley Brother’s ‘It’s Your Thing’ was a huge hit in the Spring of 1969, going to #1 R&B and making it to #2 Pop.

It’s influence can be seen not only in the long list of outright covers of the song, but also in the list of homages to it as well, in records that borrow the main riff (like Clarence Wheeler and the Enforcers ‘Doin’ What We Wanna’) or “answer” the OG (like Marva Whitney’s ‘It’s My Thing’).

It’s not out of the question that Bataan felt that the refrain…

It’s your thing, do what you wanna do
I can’t tell you who to sock it to

…had transcended its roots as a lyric and emerging as something much bigger, the kind of statement that would find its way on to t-shirts and spray-painted onto city walls.

Either way, it is a very, very groovy record, perfect for the coming of summer weather.

I hope you dig it and I’ll see you all 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).

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, April 26, 2012 11:54 am

Bubbha Thomas and the Lightmen

Listen/Download Fried Chicken – Funky DJ

Greetings all.

The end of another week is upon us, and it behooves me to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and very Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, followed the next day, posted in MP3 form right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today may (should) sound familiar.

A few years back I posted Earnest Jackson’s 1974 45 ‘Funky Black Man’.

It was in that post that I mentioned that the song had been remade a few years later as ‘Funky DJ’ by a group calling themselves Fried Chicken (who were in fact a pseudonymous Bubbha Thomas and the Lightmen).

Both records were used by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist in their landmark mixes, ‘Funky Black Man’ in ‘Product Placement’ and ‘Funky DJ’ in ‘Brainfreeze’.

Drummer Bubbha Thomas and the Lightmen (also billed as the Lightmen Plus One) hailed from Houston, TX.

Thomas had studied under Conrad Johnson (later director of the legendary Kashmere Stage Band) and with the Lightmen released two albums ‘Energy Control Center’ in 1972 (the track ‘The Phantom’ was included on the Stones Throw ‘Funky 16 Corners’ compilation) and ‘Country Fried Chicken’.

I’m not sure how Thomas and his band came to cover Jackson’s record, but the results were certainly interesting (especially to anyone interested in sampling the phrase ‘funky dj’).

It was also co-produced by 60s pop star John Fred!

I stand by my initial appraisal, in which I stated that Jackson’s vocals are superior, but both records are certainly cool and worth hearing.

I hope you dig it and I’ll be back on Monday with something groovy.

Keep the faith

Larry

PS This one goes out to all the funky DJs, you know who you are.

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, April 19, 2012 5:01 pm

Miss Lyn Collins

Listen/Download Lyn Collins – We Want To Parrty, Parrty, Parrty

Greetings all.

Welcome once again to Funky16Corners.

I should start by letting you know that the Funky16Corners Radio Show train continues forward unabated, and can be boarded this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. As always, if you can’t be there in person you can always fall by the blog over the weekend to pick yourselves up an MP3 of the show (or of any of the more than 100 past episodes stored in the archive).

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In other news, though circumstances prevent me from participating this time out, I do want to let you know that the HPRS will be open again on 4/21, Record Store Day. This will be the 6th anniversary of the HPRS collective and I can assure you that there is plenty of excellent vinyl to be had.  The sale runs from 11-5 at 960 Green Street in Iselin, NJ (not too far off of Rt1). There will be another guest dealer (bringing 45s!) so if you’re in the area and vinyl is something you dig, make sure you stop by.

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You all know me, and how wherever possible I like to end the week on an up note with the kind of sounds that might convince you and your mates to slip on your dancing shoes, let loose with the juice and get down a bit.

Miss Lyn Collins – like so many members of the James Brown galaxy of stars – has been featured in this space before.

She had one of the more powerful voices of JB’s divas, and very rarely left the recording studio without laying down something heavy.

Today’s selection is the party (or more appropriately PAARTY) side of a very excellent two-sided killer on the People label from 1973 (the flip being a fantastic ballad that I simply must feature here sometime soon).

‘We Want to Parrty Parrty Parrty’ is marked not only by one of Miss Collins’ patented intros (she wasn’t called the Female Preacher for nothing) but a very tasty, heavy electric piano groove. The JBs line up for some of that razor sharp wah wah guitar, high stepping drums and perfectly arranged horns.

Things are a little bit slower than some of her better known 45s, but they are also without a doubt funky, extremely danceable and filled with head nodding goodness.

Interestingly, the rhythm track was recycled as the b-side of a JBs 45 (retitled ‘Crossover’) on Polydor in 1977.

So pull down the ones and zeros, slap this one on your pod-thingy and let’er rip.

Your party guests will thank you.

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you all 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).

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, April 12, 2012 3:34 pm

Garnet Mimms

Listen/Download Garnett Mimms – Prove It To Me

Greetings all.

I hope the day finds you all well.

The end of another week is here, and so is your weekly dose of soul power on the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We take to the airwaves of the interwebs this – and every – Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at the time of broadcast you can always fall by the blog and grab the show (or any of the previous 100 episodes) in MP3 form.

Today’s selection is another one of those records I might never have known about had I not had the good fortune to spin beside one of the greats of the game, the mighty Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

It was last Spring when I was fortunate enough to spin at one of the last Subway Soul nights in New York City that I got to spin the good stuff, sharing the decks with Phreddie, Girlsoul, and my old friend Jumpy, spending a fair amount of time (as is often the case in these situations) lengthening my want list.

There were many cool sounds that were new to my ears, but the one that really grabbed me is the 45 you see before you today.

As soon as the Boog dropped the needle on ‘Prove It To Me’ my ears perked up and I sidled up to the decks to see what the record was.

I have to be honest when I say that for the longest time I pretty much thought the Garnet Mimms story started and finished with the epic ‘Cry Baby’.

Back in ’63, when the mighty Jerry Ragavoy and Bert Berns put pen to paper, and then went into the studio with Mimms, they created one of the great soul ballad records of the classic era.

Today’s selection, ‘Prove It To Me’ – recorded and released in 1966 – was written (again) by Ragavoy (co-written by Edward Marshall who also helped pen Ragovoy’s first chart hit, the Majors ‘A Wonderful Dream’), who also produced and arranged.

It is a stunning, moody slice of Northern soul with a repeating horn line that digs deep into your ears. The record also features a great vocal by Mimms and some just this side of incongruous gut-bucket lead guitar.

Oddly enough – though this may be a testament to what listeners were expecting from Mimms – ‘Prove It To Me’ didn’t make a dent on the charts, but its flip side, the (excellent) slow ballad ‘I’ll Take Good Care Of You’ was a Top 20 R&B hit in the Spring of 1966.

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

See you on Monday

Peace

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).

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.