Comments (2)

By Larry, October 19, 2010 1:27 pm

The lovely Miss Mary Wells

Listen/Download – Mary Wells – Can’t You See (You’re Losing Me)

Greetings all.

Once again I’m neck deep in a busy week, but what better time for an invigorating and restorative shot of soul?

Like anyone who tuned into an oldies station in the 1970s (or 80s, 90s or 00s) Motown looms large.

Unfortunately – and I’ve spoken on this issue at length in the past – what you basically get in that format is the same dozen of so songs by the label’s biggest artists, repeated ad infinitum to the point of nausea.

It was just such a situation that turned me off to the wonders of Motown for a long time, until many years later, when the sounds of Northern Soul came into my life.

Though the phrase Northern Soul, used as a descriptive can be unbelievably wide-ranging, were you to approach it from the broadest possible angle, what you’re hearing is musicians and singers, in and out of Detroit making an effort to duplicate the soul sounds coming out of that city, in and out of Motown (and I say in and out because so many Motor City records on other labels were played by the same general group of musicians creating the magic for Berry Gordy).

One of those oft-repeated songs was ‘My Guy’ by Mary Wells. A big hit in the Spring of 1964, that song cemented Mary Wells in the minds of a generation (and beyond).

What a lot of folks don’t know, is that Wells left Motown soon after, and spent the rest of the decade bouncing to 20th Century Fox, Atco and Jubilee, making a few minor dents in the charts but nothing like her time at Motown.

Despite that fact, she continued to make great music, including today’s track, recorded in 1966 for Atco.

I first heard this tune via my man Agent 45, who had picked it up on a mispressed/labeled 45. When I heard ‘Cant’ You See (You’re Losing Me)’ I flipped my wig.

What a fucking stormer!

Not only is the song a bit of Northern Soul genius (that honking baritone sax is the shit!), with a powerful, propulsive dancer’s beat, but the song itself is a killer.

Written by none other than Barrett Strong (another tie back to Motown), and recorded in Chicago with a brilliant arrangement by Sonny Sanders, another former Detroiter who had worked on a number of classics at the Golden World label, ‘Can’t You See (You’re Losing Me)’ is yet another example of a record that should have been a huge hit, yet only finds its reward in the hearts of soulies decades on.

‘Can’t You See (You’re Losing Me)’ has since become a staple of my Northern Soul box, and always brings someone up to the decks to see what’s playing.

Love, love, love this record.

I hope you do too,

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some proto-powerpop

Comments (9)

By Larry, October 17, 2010 1:56 pm

General Johnson.

Listen/Download – Chairmen of the Board – From the Days of Pigtails (and Fairy Tales)

Greetings all.

I hope everyone had a stellar weekend.

We got the sad news last week that soul legend General Johnson, who led the Showmen in the early 60s and the Chairmen of the Board later in the decade had passed away at the age of 67.

His career as a singer and songwriter (he wrote ‘Patches’, a huge hit for Clarence Carter, and co-wrote ‘Want Ads’ for the Honey Cone) was long and rewarding, and in addition to their chart success, the Chairmen of the Board became legends on the Beach Music scene in the Carolinas.

The tune I bring you today appeared hear four years ago, after I happened upon it in a mix and was blown away.

It quickly became a fave and I rarely take my DJ box out without it.

I hope you all dig it, and take a moment to remember the great General Johnson.

Originally Posted 4/2006

“So, anyway, how’s about some music?

I’ve gone on before about the joy of discovering a great new track, and haven’t been above admitting the instances when I had been unable to see the forest for the trees. This is one such instance. A few weeks ago, via a Myspace friend, Spain’s own Gruyere DJ, I received a link to download his New Years Eve DJ mix.

I did so, and the mix was excellent, featuring a wide variety of rare funk nuggets, as well as a bunch of stuff that was not familiar to me. One such track appeared less than 15 minutes into the mix, and it was a killer. I immediately recued the tune (three of four times), listening to see if I might recognize the singer(s), or if any of the lines might reveal a familiar title.

No such luck.

So, I tried to contact Gruyere DJ to ask him who it was. The Myspace link wouldn’t load. So, I posted a query over at Soulstrut, figuring that one of the learned heads over there would recognize the refrain. Snake eyes…. Then I tried Google-ing the lyrics, only to discover that the main line in the chorus also appeared in a Jackson Five song (this was clearly not the same song, nor was it the Jackson Five). I thought I had reached a dead end.

Then Myspace started working again, and I got a message through to my amigo in Spain. He got back to me in short order, and informed me that the track was ‘Since the Days of Pigtails (and Fairy Tales)’ by the Chairmen of the Board. So I start searching around to see how I an get myself a copy of this funky gem, and lo and behold, it turns out to be residing on the b-side of a huge hit, ‘Give Me Just A Little More Time’. Well, dip me in shit and call me stinky!

Naturally, I found a nice copy for under ten bucks, and had it drop through the mail slot a few short days later. If you’ve heard the song (which I’m sure someone out there does), you’ll already know how smoking hot it is. If you’re as blissfully ignorant as I was, it should come as a very nice surprise indeed.

The Chairmen of the Board was one of the top acts in Holland-Dozier-Holland’s Invictus/Hot wax stable. Formed in 1968, by General Johnson – who had previously been in the Showmen, who’s Beach Music anthem ‘It Will Stand was a hit in 1961 and 1964 (for Minit and Imperial) – Danny Woods and Harrison Kennedy, hit the top ten several times between 1970 and 1973.

‘Since the Days of Pigtails (and Fairy Tales)’ appeared on their 1970 debut LP, and was credited to Ronald Dunbar and Edith Wayne. The Dunbar/Wayne credit, which was also attached to Freda Payne’s ‘Band of Gold’ (among other tunes) was in fact a pseudonym for Holland-Dozier-Holland who were still contractually obligated (as songwriters) to the Motown organization. That LP also featured the original recording of Patches (written by General Johnson) which went on to be a huge hit for Clarence Carter.

While the a-side of the 45, ‘Give Me Just A Little More Time’ is one of the most fondly remembered early 70’s soul classics – which strangely enough did better on the Pop charts (#3) than the R&B charts (#8) – it’s killer flipside is what we’re hear to talk about today.

Starting off with a funky guitars and tambourine, the good General drops in with the first few lines before the congas, and then the drums kick the tune into gear. The first chorus takes things to another level entirely, bolstered by the horn section. The arrangement is clean, mean and delicious, with enough kick to please the funk fans and the dancers, and plenty of hooks for the pop crowd.

Why this didn’t catch on to create one of the great two-sided hits of all time is beyond me. I’d place it up there with ‘Band of Gold’, and Laura Lee’s ‘Crumbs off the Table’ as the absolute best of Invictus/Hot Wax. So the next time you’re prowling garage sales and flea markets, bring along an extra quarter. You’ll be able to get your own copy of this killer. You can thank me then.”

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some proto-powerpop

Comments (7)

By Larry, October 9, 2010 12:49 pm

John…

and Antoine…

Listen/Download – Fats Domino – Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey

Greetings all.

This is a previously unplanned post, but that’s just the way we roll here, since one must allow themselves to be guided by inspirado, or something like that.

This weekend marks what would have been the 70th birthday of John Lennon.

I have gone into my deep and abiding love for the Beatles in this space before (and over at Iron Leg), but something I haven’t discussed is my growing ambivalence about Mr. Lennon.

I would not have discussed it at all were I not spurred on to introspection about this specific subject by various and sundry celebrations of the aforementioned occasion in every conceivable nook and cranny of the media, but especially the postings of my many Facebook friends, many of whom have exceptional taste in music.

The Beatles were the first music that I truly loved and connected with, and for a few years in the time when I was passing from childhood into adolescence they were pretty much all I listened to with any regularity (other than the jazz and classical music that was played by my father).

The walls of my room were plastered with clippings about the Beatles that I had collected from newspapers and magazines, as well as posters and ephemera like the inserts from the ‘Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album.

This is all said only to indicate that the Beatles – as musicians, cultural avatars and people – and the music they made meant, and mean a great deal to me.

However, over the many, many years (I turned 48 this year) I have read a great deal about them, their impact on the culture and the way they created their records, and my impressions of the four Beatles have evolved considerably for a wide variety of reasons.

Back when I was younger, obsessed with rock’n’roll and with all the signifiers of “authenticity” that go along with it when you’re young and full of a wide variety of things, from beans, to piss and vinegar, and what in retrospect – if you’re being honest – something that is clearly shit, I followed the script that said that McCartney was the sellout, Lennon the rebel, Ringo the good natured post-Fabs hitmaker and Harrison the incorruptible mystic.

This had a lot to do with my brain being young, soft and unable (or unwilling) to process anything more complex than a handful of cliches.

That said, as I aged, and read more, I came to understand that the Beatles were much more complex and human that I was willing to allow them to be when I first fell in love with them and the wondrous sounds that they made.

Unfortunately, this evolution softened my appraisal of McCartney (no mean feat) and poked a number of holes in how I saw Lennon.

I’ll let you read up on your own, but I came to the end of this long reappraisal not liking John Lennon all that much.

What I’ve come to discover over the last few weeks of thought and discussion is that this is ultimately my own problem, and should be rightfully separated from his music.

That and the fact that while he wasn’t a saint, he wasn’t a complete asshole either.

John Lennon was a human being, just like the rest of us.

A prodigiously talented (and flawed) human being, but a human being nonetheless, who was never comfortable with the idolatry of many of his fans, and at the end of the day, he was also a Beatle, and responsible for some of the finest music of the last half of the previous century.

And when I say music, I don’t mean the Beatles recordings exclusively, but also their songs as interpreted by others.

Funky16Corners, while always a kind of free-flowing deal – as far as musical style goes – has always found it’s way back to a focus on funk, soul and jazz, and it was by way of that short list that I’ve paid my own sort of tribute to the Beatles and their music over the last five years.

I did so by compiling six mixes (se below) of funk, soul and jazz Beatles covers (one’s a shorter one, but I like it anyway), all of which I’ve pulled out of the Podcast Archive to repost today.

I’ve also included a cover of ‘Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey’ that I picked up after all of these mixes were assembled.

The version here is by the mighty Fats Domino. It was recorded in 1970 (I picked it up on an old Warner/Reprise sampler) and John Lennon was reportedly pleased to have one of his songs covered by one of his own idols.

Fats does a very nice version of the song, which is groovy, and brings things full circle since he was the stylistic inspiration for ‘Lady Madonna’.

I hope you dig it, and that – have you not already partaken (partooken???) that you dig into these mixes.

The day when Lennon would have turned 70 (!?!?) is a big deal, and since we only have two Beatles left, it’s worth celebrating.

There’s lots of groovy stuff.

See you later.

Peace

Larry

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Funky16Corners Radio v.28 – Rubber Souled Pt1

Funky16Corners Radio v.28 – Rubber Souled Pt1

Playlist
Billy Preston – Eight Days a Week (Exodus)
Music Company – TheWord (Mirwood)
Bunny Sigler – Yesterday (Parkway)
Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out (Tamla)
Vontastics – Day Tripper (St Lawrence)
Chris Clark – Got To Get You Into My Life (Motown)
El Chicano – Eleanor Rigby (Kapp)
Junior Parker – Tomorrow Never Knows (Capitol)
Bill Cosby – Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (WB)
Soulful Strings – Within You Without You (Cadet)
Bud Shank – I Am the Walrus (World Pacific)
Soulful Strings – Hello Goodbye (Cadet)
Soulful Strings – The Inner Light (Cadet)

Listen/ Download 37MB Mixed MP3
Download 37MB Zip File

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Funky16Corners Radio v.29 – Rubber Souled Pt2

Playlist
Ramsey Lewis – Mother Natures Son (Cadet)
Bobby Bryant – Happiness Is a Warm Gun (Pacific Jazz)
Orchestra Harlow – Larry’s Complaint (Me & My Monkey) (Fania)
Ramsey Lewis – Back In the USSR (Cadet)
Chubby Checker – Back In the USSR (Buddah)
Groove Holmes & Ernie Watts – Come Together (Pacific Jazz)
Jazz Crusaders – Golden Slumbers (Chisa)
Gene Ammons – Something (Prestige)
Ike & Tina Turner – Get Back (UA)
Shirley Scott – Get Back (Atlantic)
Mohawks – Let It Be (Supreme)

Listen/ Download 37.5MB Mixed MP3
Download 37.5MB Zip File

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Funky16Corners Radio v.30 – Rubber Souled Pt3

Playlist
Overton Berry Trio – Hey Jude (Jaro)
Freddy McCoy – Hey Jude (Cobblestone)
Jimmy Caravan – Hey Jude (Vault)
Clarence Wheeler & the Enforcers – Hey Jude (Atlantic)
Fabulous Counts – Hey Jude (Cotillion)
Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude (Atlantic)

Listen/ Download 25MB Mixed MP3
Download 25MB Zip File

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Funky16Corners Radio v.54 – Come Together

Funky16Corners Radio v.54 – Come Together

Playlist

Funky16Corners Radio v.74 – Day Tripping

Comments (2)

By Larry, October 7, 2010 5:11 pm

Richard Marks

Listen/Download – Richard Marks – Funky Four Corners (inst)

Greetings all.

I’m back, but I wouldn’t swear that I’m all there, if you know what I mean.

I make reference in this space repeatedly to the storied “real world moves” and I’m not kidding. In addition to the recent health-related stuff (things are cool, but I’m taking a little time to bounce back) we’ve had a full slate of responsibilities here in the Funky16Corners compound, which are on the cusp of a shift, which, if not resulting in a net gain of free time, will at least preclude a loss thereof.

That said, I’m whipped right now (physically, not philosophically), so I’m going to keep it relatively brief.

First off, I have one of my Marvin sets from the DC trip recorded and ready to go, bit it’s been so mix-heavy here lately I figured I’d drop some individual tracks and bring that mix into the lineup in the next few weeks.

I’m also working on a special election mix. I was pulling records for it this morning, but I still have a little theoretical/curatorial cooking to do, and there’s still four weeks until the rise of the cranks, so just know that it’ll be here sooner or later.

There’s also a brand new edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show this week (I made sure to whip it up before all the recent excitement), so you’ll want to set aside an hour this Friday to dig it (though you can always fall by the blog on Saturday and pull down the ones and zeros for your personal listening device).

The track I bring you today is one of my DC finds, and it was a groovy one indeed.

I already knew Richard Marks’ ‘Funky Four Corners Pt1’ via a comp (it appeared here in the ‘Getting the Corners’ mix) but I hadn’t scored a copy of the 45 until my trip to Washington.

When I got the 45 and gave it a spin, I was very pleased to discover that ‘Funky Four Corners Pt2’ was no run of the mill ‘second half of a funk 45’ but rather a very cool version of the tune as guitar instrumental (a la Lowell Fulsom’s ‘Tramp’/’Pico’ pairing).

According to my man Brian Poust over at the Georgia Soul blog, Marks was an Atlanta-based guitarist, which naturally makes me think that it’s him plucking the funky git-box on FFC2.

I love the production, and the reverb and fat tone of the lead guitar on this one, so much so that I think were I to slip it into my record box, I’d be happy playing either side of this one for a room full of dancers.

I hope you dig it too, and that you all have a groovy weekend.

I’m gonna go get some snoozeration….

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some proto-powerpop

Comments (1)

By Larry, October 3, 2010 2:15 pm

Tarik Thornton Hip Drop Set List

Willie Tee- Gatur Bait (Gatur)
Eula Cooper- Shake Daddy Shake (Atlantic)
The Vibrettes – The Humpty Dump (Lujon)
Soul Tornados- Hot Pants Breakdown (Magic City)
Leon Haywood- Skate Awhile (Fat Fish)
Bobby Williams – Funky SuperFly ( Duplex) Original Pressing
Eddie Jacobs- Pull My Coat (Columbia)
Bernard Drake- The Natural Thing (Louisiane)
Charles Mintz –Give a Man Break (Abbott)
Gloria Walker & The Chevelles – You Hit The Spot (Flaming Arrow)
Danny DeLaney- Stop & Think (Seeda)
Richard Marks – Funky Four Corners (Roulette) French Import
Rocker Roberts – T- Bird Stomp ( Roulette)
Soul Setters – Out O Sight (Onacrest)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling Pt. 1 (Fairmount)

You can check out this mix in the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

Tarik Thornton on the decks….

Justin ‘Rambo’ Salinas
Sunny and the Sunliners-Talk That Trash (Key-Loc)
Rocky Gil and the Bishops- Soul Party (Teardrop)
Sunny and the Sunliners-If I could See You Now (Key-Loc)
The Majestics- I Love Her So Much It Hurts (Linda)
Dimas and The Royal Jesters-So Funny (Clown)
The Royal Jesters- Use Your Head (Jester)
Thee Midnighters – Whittier Blvd. (Whittier)
Sunny and the Sunliners-Somethings Gotta Hold on Me (Teardrop)
The Eptones-A Love That’s Real (Jox)
The Commands-Hey Its Love (Dynamic)
Thee Midnighters- Chicano Power (La Raza)
Sunny and the Sunliners- Saving My Love (Key-Loc)

You can check out this mix in the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

Justin ‘Rambo’ Salinas and Joe Cristando

Greetings all.

I hope you’re all well.

I have returned from DC laden with vinyl and tired as a mofo.

I’m this close to a full restoration of energy and enthusiasm, but I’m gonna rest a little bit more while you all get down.

Of what do I speak?

Well, I have a very special treat for you all to get your week started.
A little while back my man Tarik Thornton let me know that he was going to be spinning a set in New Orleans at the Ponderosa Stomp pre-party known as the Hip Drop. Naturally I asked him if he’d be recording it, so that I might place it up here on the blog for the delectation of the reader/listener-ship.

Naturally he gave me the okeydoke, in addition to getting Mr. Justin ‘Rambo’ Salinas (of the famed Hot Pants party in Minneapolis) – who was also spinning at the party – to contribute his set as well.

What does this mean to you?

Well, you get to wrap your ears around two superb sets of funk and soul by two of the country’s finest selectors, with Tarik bringing a regionally diverse set of heat, and Justin dropping a very nice set of Chicano soul and funk bouncing from Texas to East LA and back again (that Intruders cover by the Eptones is amazing!).

Very groovy indeed!

And now, a few words from Tarik about the experience.

“Hip Drop is the opening party for the Ponderosa Stomp. This 45 all-nighter hosts 10 DJs from all around the world. This year Justin Salinas along with myself were invited to participate in the festivities. Justin, who is a member of the Hot Pants Crew of Minneapolis, flew into New Orleans with only backpack and a 45 case ready for action. As for myself,a New Orleans native, this was a homecoming of sorts. I haven’t lived in the city for almost 10yrs so this weekend was very welcoming and adownright funky experience. As you can tell from both of our sets the night was hot and heavy as all the invited DJs brought in their best arsenal of 45’s. Throughout the madness of the weekend, I managed to dig up an old Mini Disc player to record both of our sets live! The end result is a something only fit for place called The Funky 16 Corners. Enjoy!”

– Tarik Thornton

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

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some Dutch sunshine pop.

Comments (8)

By Larry, September 26, 2010 5:46 pm

Funky16Corners Radio v.88 – Throbbing Organs

Playlist

You can check out this mix in the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive

This is being prepared in advance of my excursion to Washington, so any reporting on that trip will have to wait until later in the week.

Hopefully it was a gas and I found lots of groovy records.

That said, it’s been a while since the last organ mix (a live mix, back in January), and I can’t go very long without a Hammond infusion, so I figured it was time.

This mix is all over the map, with some hard driving R&B, soul, funk and even a little bit of soul jazz, but since we’re talking about the universe of the Hammond organ, that’s kind of how these things swing.

A couple of these tracks have seen the light of day here on Funky16Corners individually (none recently), but since two slices of bacon is always better than one, and organ records are the soulful and delicious equivalent of bacon in the musical food pyramid, it couldn’t possibly hurt to hear them again.

Anyhoo… this week might be a little light, since I’m one hundred and eleventy seven percent that I will be returning from DC exhausted, and then I have a little surgical type thingy on Tuesday which is sure to knock me on my ass for a few days, but it’s one of those ‘gotta do it when you gotta do it’ deals, so there.

I hope you dig the mix, and I’m sure I’ll make it back onto the scene by the end of the week (if not sooner).

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PPS – Make sure to fall by Iron Leg for a new psyche mix!

PPPS Make sure to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 23, 2010 3:33 pm

Jimmy Smith

Listen/Download – Jimmy Smith – The Cat

Greetings all.

I have so much stuff to do this weekend that I was going to forgo the regularly scheduled Friday post, but thought it might be a good idea to touch base with you all about the goings on here in Funky16Cornersville that I changed my mind.

First and foremost, I’ll be traveling down to Washington, DC this weekend with my records for a couple of DJ-type extravaganzas.

Saturday night I’ll be sharing the decks with my man DJ Birdman at Marvin (2007 14th Street, NW), and while we’re likely to get started on the mellower side of things, you know that as soon as the little hand starts pointing up the place will be banging, so if you dig delicious food, Belgian beer and the best in funk, soul and disco, you should fall by and join us.

The following day I’ll be doing a set at the DC Record Fair, and naturally also buying some records. I expect I’ll be running into all manner of interwebs friends, so stop by and say hi if you’re there.

Of course if you’re about on Friday night, say around 9PM you should head over to Viva internet radio for the Funky16Corners Radio Show for an hour of the best funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from original vinyl sources. The show will be then be archived (as an MP3) for download.

The track I bring you today is one of the truly great things that Jimmy Smith recorded during the 60s (maybe his best).

‘The Cat’ is a stunner, and that my friends is all I going to (or have time to) say this fine day (aside from the following bit of hyperbole…or is it???). It smokes from start to finish and is the bad-assiest of all the bad-ass, bad-assery ever committed via the intercession of Mr. Hammond’s mighty electric organ-o-phone.

Dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday with a whole new mix of Hammond organ goodness.

Have yourselves a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some puh-sike-a-dellia….

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 21, 2010 10:15 am

F16C Soul Club Presents – Funky16Corners Live at Master Groove 9/19/10

Playlist

You can check out this mix in the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

The middle of the week, and I’m up to my ass in hungry alligators, with the real world crap and preparing for my excursion to our nation’s capitol, during which I will address congress on my solutions to all the big problems currently driving us crazy (or at least those members of congress willing to come down to Marvin on Saturday night, or the DC Record Fair on Sunday and extract said solutions from within the grooves of various funk, soul and disco records).

Since I am so occupied, I figured I’d whip out my massive custodian’s key ring and open up the Funky16Corners Soul Club so that you might check out my set from this past Sunday night at Master Groove.

DJ Bluewater has things back up and running at Fat Buddha (formerly Forbidden City, same place, same great food, but now with a swanky DJ booth for the likes of me to spin the records) with the mighty M-Fasis at his side and a stellar line up of guest selectors and their 45s every Sunday night (212 Ave A NYC). You should fall by some time, grab a pork bun, dumpling or other delicious morsel and fill your ears up with the good stuff.

This set includes some old faves, a grip of newer stuff that will soon be appearing in this space with the trenchant analysis you’ve come to know and love, and a couple of things from deep in the crates.

There are a couple of inelegant segues, but that’s the way it happens when your DJ is checking his phone when he ought to be hovering over the mixer. As always we present these unvarnished turntable exercises in the form a single MP3, without the zip file that accompanies the regular Funky16Corners mixes.

I hope you dig it, and hopefully I’ll be back on Friday with a little something to hold you for the weekend.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PPS – Make sure to fall by Iron Leg

PPPS Make sure to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Comments (1)

By Larry, September 19, 2010 2:57 pm

The Masqueraders

Listen/Download – Masqueraders – I Don’t Want Nobody To Lead Me On

Listen/Download – Masqueraders – Love Peace and Understanding

Greetings all.

This is going to be a very busy week, with the real world moves mixed in with DJ gigs on Sunday in NYC (past) and next Sat and Sun in DC.

However, your intrepid blogger will not be stayed from the swift completion of his appointed rounds,
The two tunes I bring you today are by one of the more interesting soul groups that I’ve come across.
I first came to the Masqueraders in a rather roundabout way, after discovering that one of my favorite tunes on the Dynamics ‘First Landing’ album was in fact a cover of a Masqueraders tune.

This sent me a-Googling, and I discovered that the Masqueraders were the very definition of a journeyman soul group, having recorded for a wide variety of labels (under a few names) between the late 50s and the mid-70s, never having made a significant impact despite some very high quality records.

Finding out about the group via the Dynamics connection, I set out in search of their 45s, keeping their name filed in the back of my mind.

The basic framework of their story follows them from Texas, to Detroit, and then on to Memphis where they recorded a big chunk of their best stuff alongside the legendary Chips Moman and Tommy Cogbill (for a detailed look at their history check out these articles at The B-Side, Solid Hit Soul and SoulExpress).
Both of today’s tunes were recorded during their late-60s Memphis period, and were both written by the group.

‘I Don’t Want Nobody To Lead Me On’ (from 1967) was the Masqueraders tune I heard performed by the Dynamics. The tune was also covered by Rosey Grier (who also recorded for AGP) and a group called the Gentlemen Four. It’s a great piece of rough harmony soul, with some great guitar work. The Masqueraders’ version is (at least to my ears) far superior to the Dynamics (excellent) cover (I haven’t heard the other two versions).

1969’s ‘Love Peace and Understanding’ is a fantastic, upbeat number with era-specific lyrics that reinforces the group’s songwriting cred. Like ‘I’Don’t Want Nobody…’ it sounds like a rougher, groovier take on the Detroit group sound of the time, like a funkier, more aggressive Four Tops.

The Masqueraders hit the R&B charts a few times in the 60s, and again with a later version of the group in the 80s.

Many of their best 60s and 70s records are included in the comp ‘The Masqueraders Unmasked’.

I hope you dig the tunes and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Don’t forget, I’ll be heading down to Washington, DC for a weekend of fun. Saturday evening 9/25 I will be spinning at Marvin with my man DJ Birdman, bringing the finest in funk, soul and disco to perk up your ears and move your feet. The following day I will be spinning a set at the DC Record Fair. Fall by and say howdy if you’re in the area.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some pop-psyche goodness.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 16, 2010 7:45 am

Andre Williams

Listen/Download – Andre Williams – Cadillac Jack

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and I am happy to say that the Funky16Corners obit page is closed (for now).
Losing both Diamond Joe and King Coleman in the same week was a colossal drag, so I figured I close things out with something a little, how do they say, bad-ass.

But first, some news.

Should you be in New York City this Sunday evening and have developed a taste for the funk 45s, might I suggest you fall by Fat Buddha (formerly known as Forbidden City) 212 Ave A as I and my records will be making our return to Master Groove alongside residents DJ Bluewater and M-Fasis. I’ll be spending the next few days rifling through my crates to select only the finest funk that can be delivered via seven-inch platter, and I hope you can make it out to hear some of them, and perhaps, should the spirit take you, get off your ass and shake a tailfeather.

In even more exciting news, my records and I will be piling into the Funky16Corners-mobile and heading down to Washington, DC for a weekend of fun. Saturday evening 9/25 I will be spinning at Marvin with my man DJ Birdman, bringing the finest in funk, soul and disco to perk up your ears and move your feet. The following day I will be spinning a set at the DC Record Fair, as well as spending money on records (who among you didn’t see that coming?), after which I will be dragging my exhausted ass back to New Jersey.

You should also be hip (if you aren’t already) to the Funky16Corners Radio Show which drops every Friday night at 9PM on Viva internet radio, and is then archived for download (as an MP3) at this very blog the following day. I have lots of groovy stuff in store, so you should be real nice and feed your iPod something healthy.

As I said a few graphs ago, I was in the mood for some funky bad-assery, so I dipped into the crates and whipped out a little number by Mr. Andre Williams.

I won’t go too deep into his history, which is long and convoluted, aside from letting you know that Mr. Williams, working in Detroit and Chicago had a hand in creating many, many great records during his day, including writing or co-writing tunes like ‘Shake a Tail Feather’ and ‘Twine Time’, and burning up the studios with his own brand of groove grease with tunes like ‘Bacon Fat’, ‘Jail Bait’, ‘Loose Juice’, ‘Rib Tips’ etc, and working behind the scenes on records like ‘Uhuru (African Twist)’ by Jomo and ‘Pig Snoots’ by the Natural Bridge Bunch. During the 50s and 6os he recorded for labels like Fortune, Avin, Sport, Ric-Tic, Checker, Chess Wingate and many more.

The tune I bring you today (from 1968) is a tale of a very heavy cat named ‘Cadillac Jack’ which is sung (narrated?) by Andre who gambles, fights and (of course) drives a big white Caddy, until he meets his end at the barrel of a gun, eventually trading his own Caddy for the long, black one from the funeral home.

As Mr Williams says, ‘He sure was a mack!’.

So was Andre, and despite hitting some very hard times a while back, he made a comeback and is still performing.

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

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some pop-psyche goodness.

Comments (3)

By Larry, September 14, 2010 10:30 am

Carlton ‘King’ Coleman

Listen/Download – King Coleman – The Boo Boo Song Pt1

Listen/Download – King Coleman – Freedom

Greetings all.

Welcome to the second – and hopefully the last – installment in the latest string of ‘in memorium’ posts here at Funky16Corners.

I heard of the passing of the mighty Rev. Carlton ‘King’ Coleman literally minutes after I found out about Diamond Joe.

Though I can’t say that I know a lot about King Coleman, what I do know cements his position as one of the great R&B/soul journeymen of the 60s.

He worked as a disc jockey, emcee, and vocalist (he debuted as the vocalist on Nat Kendrick and the Swans ‘(Do the) Mashed Potatoes’) going on to record a series of dynamite 45s.

The greatest of these (at least in my humble opinion) is the positively, unfuckwithable ‘Boo Boo Song’, as powerful and raucous a slab of party power as has ever been committed to vinyl.

The King eventually found his way to the Lord and continued to record religious music that was still soulful and funky, eventually returning to his radio roots hosting a gospel program on WMBM in his native Florida.
I’m going to repost both King Coleman tracks that have appeared here previously, the aforementioned ‘Boo Boo Song’ and the much more serious ‘Freedom’.

Separated from the ‘Boo Boo Song’ by barely a year, ‘Freedom’ (released on Philadelphia’s storied Fairmount label) is a spoken-word civil rights anthem, and quite a departure for the man that spent the previous decade shimmying, hully gullying, and engaging in all manner of madness.

I’m also going to repost the write-up I did about the ‘Boo Boo Song’ back in 2006. It pretty much says all I want to say about that amazing record.

Peace
Larry

_____________________________________________________________________________

Originally posted April 2006

So it’s the middle of 1967, and you just rolled into your job at the local six million watt AM radio powerhouse. You pour yourself a disgusting cup of lukewarm coffee and grab a box of new 45s, to see what might make it onto the air. You work your way through all manner of budding psychedelia, sunshine pop and middle-of-the-road instrumentals, when you reach into the box and pull out something called ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ by a cat calling himself King Coleman. Though you are unfamiliar with the artist, you decide to give it a spin anyway, knowing that despite the suspect title, anything is possible. You unsleeve the record, place it on the turntable and absentmindedly apply needle to wax. The next few second are a blur. All you can remember is that following seemingly innocent opening, female singers chanting;

A hunting we will go A hunting we will go We will catch that fox and put him in a box And will not let him go!

You momentarily figure you have a childrens record on your hands. And then, something happens that causes you to spit out your coffee and jump from your chair like your pants were on fire. There, booming out of the speakers is something that sounds like a bug-eyed madman on a caffeine bender.

Boo bo boo bo boo boo boo bo bo bo bo Bay bay buh baybay bay buh buh bay bay Bo bo bo bo bo bo bo (etc etc…)*

It sounds like the kind of guy, that if a certified lunatic like Screaming Jay Hawkins saw King Coleman coming up the sidewalk, he’d pull the bone from his nose, avert his eyes and cross to the other side of the street, murmuring to himself, “Omigod, omigod, omigod. It’s that King Coleman…PUH-leeze don’t let him see me….”

Suffice to say, that as far as you were concerned, things only got worse. The wild babbling emanating from the grooves builds to a crescendo, a mess of corrupted nursery rhymes, nonsense syllables and wild wailing. You rake the needle across the record, pull it off the turntable and break it into little pieces, run into the next room and tell your secretary that if she ever lets ANYTHING like that through again she’s going to be looking for work. You of course are a tasteless bastard, and this little memory goes a long way toward explaining why you currently live under a highway overpass, grilling pigeons over a campfire.

Now if it were me back then (I’d be 5 years old), I’d have immediately requested several extra copies of ‘The Boo Boo Song’ so I’d have some spares ready as I wore them out. That’s just the kind of kid I was (and am). You see, I think King Coleman was one of the great geniuses of his day, erupting like a rhythm and blues volcano, wrecking the joint with all manner of Mashed Potatoes, Hully Gullys, Loo-key Doo-keys, Alley Rats (and Soulful Mice) and Booga-Lous.

Between 1959, when he moved from his work as an emcee and disk jockey into the world of R&B as the voice on Nat Kendrick & The Swans ‘(Do The) Mashed Potatoes Pts 1&2’ – and the late 60’s, Carlton ‘King’ Coleman laid down some of the butt-shakingest, eye-rollingest, high-stepping soul and funk 45s to ever roll down the pike. Every last one of them** is a guaranteed party starter. ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ is possibly the finest of them all, because it manages to rope in (barely) his explosive vocalizing, pairing it with some booming drums, blaring horns and organ, all of which make it a storming slice of soul evangelism – guaran-freaking-teed to peel off the wallflowers and send those already dancing into a sweaty trance. If you haven’t done so already, I would suggest most vociferously that when you play this track, you loosen your tie, turn the volume way up and let it wail. I would also recommend that if you have any small kids around, you play it for them too. I played it for my two-year old son, and he thought it was a hoot.

* Yeah, I know that isn’t an exact transcription, but if you think I’m going to spend a half an hour, restarting the song 50 times so I can accurately count all the BOBO’s and BAYBAY’s, you my friend have another think coming…

** The only exception – and a track that was omitted (for obvious reasons) from the Norton comp is the fascinating ‘Freedom’, which came out on Fairmount in 1965 or 66. It’s a mostly spoken word, civil rights anthem that is an extreme departure from the rest of his oeuvre. I’ll post it here sometime in the future

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a classic bit of Sunshine Pop

Comments (18)

By Larry, September 11, 2010 5:24 pm

‘Diamond Joe’ Maryland.

Listen/Download – Diamond Joe – Fair Play

Listen/Download – Diamond Joe – Gossip Gossip

Listen/Download – Diamond Joe – The ABC Song

Listen/Download – Diamond Joe – Look Way Back

Greetings all.

Those of you that have been here for a while might remember a time a few years back where there was a period of a couple of months where there seemed to be an obit posted here at least once a week.

I take no joy whatsoever in reporting the deaths of the musicians we revere, but considering the lack of respect many of these artists got during their lives, or are like to get after they pass, it seems only fair that we all stop and take a moment to remember them and the music they made.

A few days ago, I got an e-mail notification that someone had signed the Guest List at the Funky16Corners webzine.

The webzine has been around for a decade, and there’s lots of content there, from feature stories and discographies to simple 45 reviews, and it’s depth and longevity has turned it into a huge Google-net of sorts, in that it sends up results for all kinds of searches, some related, some not.

This has proven to be an interesting by-product, since lots of musicians and their families have gotten in contact with me via hitting the webzine.

Unfortunately, as is the case with all news, sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s bad.

When I went to collect the message, I was struck with an odd mix of sadness and excitement. Sad because it led to an obituary for one of my all-time favorite soul singers, and excitement because I had no inkling of his whereabouts, and at one time had heard that he was homeless.

That man was Joseph ‘Diamond Joe’ Maryland.

The world of 60s soul is filled with stories, many of which are short, bittersweet and ultimately incomplete.
Diamond Joe, a masterful singer and accomplished songwriter, who made two of my Top 10 soul 45s during his very short career, starred in such a story.

What little I’ve ever been able to find out about him has been by and large related to his recordings, made during a period that lasted less than a decade.

He was a New Orleans singer who recorded all of his work alongside the mighty Allen Toussaint, but like a few other artists in that orbit, also wrote some of his own material.

I probably first heard his amazing voice when I encountered his 1966 Sansu 45 ‘Gossip Gossip’ on an old Charly Records CD comp. It was an eye-opening experience in that it was clear from the very first time I heard it that ‘Gossip Gossip’ was one of the truly great soul 45s of the 60s.

What was also clear was that I had never heard the tune, nor its singer before, and as is always the case, its started me on a years-long search for the rest of his recordings.

The first sad marker in this saga was discovering that he had only recorded seven 45s in his short career.
I’ve been collecting obscure music for most of my life, and while a lot of it is good, some of it great, every once in a great while you discover a record that is absolutely brilliant. Diamond Joe recorded two of these records, and his reward was utter obscurity.

This is galling because, as it is with anything in life, when you find something that blows your mind, you’d naturally like to find more of it, and when that something begins and ends with just over a dozen songs, and then trails off into nothingness, it borders on infuriating.

Diamond Joe was, like Eldridge Holmes (who also worked almost exclusively with Toussaint) a singer of great talent, as adept with epic ballads as he was with rough edged, fast moving soul. He was possessed of a gruff baritone that could move from a growl to the most subtle whisper within the few minutes of music on a 45.

As tempting as it is to wonder why he wasn’t more successful, the point is ultimately moot. Whether it was because he was lost in a huge pool of talent in New Orleans (there are TONS of amazing New Orleans 45s that never got heard much outside of the region), or an even bigger pool nationally, or that he was just fated to create great records that few would hear (cruel fate, that), as far as I can tell be never recorded after his last Deesu 45 (both sides of which are included here today).

Until I saw the picture posted with his obit (seen above) I had no idea what he looked like.

The four tunes I post in his memory include both of my favorites, as well as a few other great ones to illustrate the breadth of his talent.

The earliest of these is 1963’s ‘Fair Play’, written by Earl King and Allen Orange. ‘Fair Play’ is an absolutely mid-bending record. In just over two minutes you get to hear Diamond Joe wrap his amazing voice around a heartbreaking melody, all contained within a stunning arrangement (how many soul records have you heard with autoharp??). No matter how many times I hear this one, it still haunts me.

‘Gossip Gossip’, from 1966 is one of those records that in a just world would have been a hit. Once again you combine a great arrangement (I believe that’s Toussaint’s speaking voice you hear at the beginning) that combines rough organ, chopping rhythm guitar and a majestic horn chart, all dwarfed by Diamond Joe’s powerful vocal.

The last two songs here are the two sides of Diamond Joe’s final 45, recorded for the Deesu label in (I believe) 1968.

‘The ABC Song’ and ‘Look Way Back’ were both written by the singer with one side funky and the other side a preaching ballad. He’s great in both styles/

I’d say you should head out there and pick yourself up some Diamond Joe, but as far as I can tell, nothing remains in print. His 45s are not easy to come by.

I hope you dig what you’re hearing today and my heart goes out to his family.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg