Funky16Corners

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By Larry, April 12, 2011 1:06 pm

Keith Beckingham and his organ

The label (above) and a Dutch picture sleeve (below)

~~Listen/Download – Royal Dukes – A First Full of Crumpet~~

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is upon us, and I am just about keeping my eyes open.

I think I may be getting to the point where the phrase “I’m getting too old for this shit” will be nailed securely into my vocabulary.

The days where I would roll in through the front door after sunrise without a care in the world are far behind me. It seems that for every night I’m out way past my bedtime spinning records, the number of subsequent days reserved for recuperative efforts grows ever larger.

This is not to say that I don’t enjoy spinning records, because it’s just about my favorite pastime, but rather that unlike in my 20s, I am now living the life of a suburban dad with a pretty full dance card, and spending a reasonable number of hours in the land of nod is a crucial prerequisite to feeling like something besides shit.

I spent last night (happily) spinning funk 45s at Spindletop @ Botanica. Since our host Perry Lane was indisposed, I was flying solo, and surprisingly enough managed to get the equipment assembled and working without any major problems.

Me and my box of 45s were settled in by 10PM for no less than three full hours of musical wonderfulness, for what was a surprisingly large crowd (though the unseasonably warm weather probably had a lot to do with that).

I managed to record the proceedings, and since the fam and I will be vacating next week, I’ll post some of it then for you to ruminate on until my return.

That said, please keep in mind that I’ll be hitting the legendary Subway Soul Club this coming Saturday for an evening of high energy soul on 45 alongside Connie T Empress and Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. If you’re in the area (Brooklyn, that is) you really should make an effort to fall by as it promises to be a gas.

Then (YES, There’s MORE!!) after some of the aforementioned vacation I’ll be spinning for two nights in Massachusetts, Friday 4/22 in Greenfield, Mass at Sweet Exorcist @ the People’s Pint, and then Saturday 4/23 in Northampton, Mass at Wooly Bully @ the Basement. Both nights promise to be very groovy indeed, so if you’re within driving distance, you should join us.

The tune I bring you today is a little something I picked up many years ago in furtherance of my Hammond organ obsession.

I’d never heard of the group or the song, but the sound clip was intriguing so I bid and won.

That said, the record remained an almost total mystery until very recently, when I started scouring the interwebs.

As is always the case, when nothing obvious presents itself, you have to start Googling the available info on the label, in the hope that some connection might be made.

The first clue that I might be on to something came when I started looking for John and Malcolm Jackson, listed as producers on the label.

As it turns out, the brothers (I’m assuming) Jackson were fairly busy running what appears to be something of an exploito music factory, casting their net rather widely, attempting to get a hit in a number of styles, including as it turns out, Hammond organ LPs.

The trail – as far as I was able to follow it – sees the Johnson brothers machine working as far back as the early 60s beat boom, moving on into psychedelic pop and then into easy/loungey Hammond records with groups like the Bunnies, the Flintlocks, Rainbow Ffolly, Tony Knight’s Chessmen and the Second City Sound, with author credits often going to the duo of Thompson and Hancock.

Today’s selection, ‘A First Full of Crumpet’ by the Royal Dukes, appears to have been issued a few times (this is an Italian 45), credited a few different ways.

One of those ‘ways’ led me to organist Keith Beckingham (with an LP appearance of the track being credited to ‘Keith Beckingham on the Hammond with the Royal Dukes’.

The song itself (released in 1972) is quite interesting, with a reggae-ish backing, over which a relaxed, atmospheric Hammond carries the melody.

It is in no way ‘funky’, but it carries with it a very groovy, Euro soundtrack vibe – reminiscent of some of the Peddlers later Hammond instros – that I dig.

I had originally thought that the title of the song was the result of a typo (assuming ‘fist full’ where it says ‘first full’) but the spelling is repeated that way more than once, so I’ll go ahead and assume that this is the result of some impenetrable English slang construction.

If any of you good people have any info to contribute, I would be most appreciative.

See you on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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DJ Gigs, Funky16Corners, Hammond Grooves, Instrumental, Reggae, Soul, Soul 45 | Funky16Corners, Hammond Organ, Reggae

Righteous Brothers – Harlem Shuffle

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By Larry, April 10, 2011 12:54 pm

Medley and Hatfield hail a cab!

~~Listen/Download – Righteous Brothers – Harlem Shuffle~~

Greetings all.

How’s by you? Groovy, I hope.

This post sees the beginning of a very busy month for me and my record box, with another appearance at Spindletop @ Botanica Monday night 4/11, which I suspect will be a gritty, mostly 60s funk bag. Things get rolling at 10PM, so drop by if you’re in the neighborhood.

This will be followed on Saturday 4/16 by my first appearance at the storied Subway Soul Club. I’ll be digging deeply into my Northern crates for this one, and I have a whole stack of recent acquisitions as well as many storming old faves that I assure you – if you are in a terpsichorean mode – will get you out of your seats and onto the floor. Since I’ll be spinning alongside Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Connie T Empress I can say without hesitation that you will be in for a night of the finest dance floor soul available on 45RPM discs. You do not want to miss it.

Assuming I survive the week, the Funky16Corners fam will be hitting the road for a little rest and relaxation, which will be capped off by two nights in northwestern Massachusetts, with stops on Friday 4/22 in Greenfield (Sweet Exorcist @ The People’s Pint) and Saturday 4/23 in Northampton (Wooly Bully @ The Basement) . I’ll post more details as the week moves on.

The tune I bring you today comes to you courtesy of my own curiosity.

While I would say that it’s safe to assume that my record jones is by and large a 45 thing, one of my favorite things to do is grab albums and plumb their depths to see what might be hidden in the grooves. Sometime last year I was out (I can’t remember exactly where) and I happened upon the Righteous Brothers 1967 LP ‘Sayin’ Somethin’.

I would not describe myself as a big fan of the duo, at least not of their biggest hits (some of which hail from the Wall of Sound). I would say that I dig both Bill Medley’s thundering baritone, and to a lesser extent Bobby Hatfield’s soaring tenor (occasionally falsetto).

When I found the LP in question, and noticed that it contained a variety of interesting cover songs, I tossed it in the ‘keeper’ stack and took it home.

When I got back to the crib and dropped the needle a few times, the track that really hit me was (not coincidentally) today’s selection, the Brothers’ cover of Bob and Earl’s classic ‘Harlem Shuffle’.

What grabbed me was the fact that Medley and Hatfield crank down the tempo a few steps, giving the song a menacing, vaguely sexy feel.

The arrangement, by Bill Baker makes excellent use of the brass section (the trombones are tearing it up), and I dig the throbbing bass guitar in the background.

While I don’t see many people getting up and dancing to this one, it really is a groovy twist on a classic, and it sounds great on the old headphones.

I hope you dig it, and that I’ll see some of you good folks down at Botanica.

Peace

Larry

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Bo Diddley – I Can Tell

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By Larry, April 7, 2011 9:35 am

Bo Diddley by Mat Vullo

~~Listen/Download – Bo Diddley – I Can Tell~~

Greetings all.

The end of the week is finally here, and I hope you’ve all gotten good and oiled up with this week’s mix as your soundtrack.

The track I bring you today ought to put a nice cap on the whole deal, but first some news you can use.

This Friday night – just like every Friday night – sees the return of the mighty Funky16Corners Radio Show, on the equally mighty Viva Radio. This is the thang where you get to sit down with me (or at least the dulcet tones of my voice) and some of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for an hour of sheer, unadulterated musical pleasure. If you can’t be there during the broadcast, you can always fall by over the weekend and pick yourself up an MP3 of the show, or several dozen past shows to stuff into your iPod.

Also, I will be returning to Spindletop @ Botanica (47 E Houston St, NYC) this coming Monday (4/11) to join my man Perry Lane for some more of that good, vinyl-based groove grease. This will be the first gig of an unusually busy month for yours truly, and I’ll be bringing along a pile of new arrivals/discoveries, so if you’re in the area, and feel like a frosty beverage and some hot music, join us.

You should also pop on over to Fleamarket Funk, where my man DJ Prestige has undertaken a redesign, as well as added a new feature called ‘Big Ups’, in which yours truly has been featured. Make sure you stop by to take a look.

I’ll assume that as soon as this page loaded in your browser, the first thing you noticed was the exceedingly groovy illustration of our friend Mr. McDaniels by Mat Vullo.

Mat and I have been Facebook pals for a long time, he an admirer of the Funky16Corners Blog, and I digging his groovy illustrations. We put our heads together and settled on an illo for a Bo Diddley feature, but you really need to go by his site and check out his other stuff. If you dig the sounds herein, you will most certainly dig the visuals over there.
Many thanks to Mat.

That all said, the tune I bring you today is yet another Asbury Lanes Garage Sale find. It was one of those ‘I’ve spent most of my dough and I’m on my way out the door and I think I’ll paw through one last box before I split’ things, and good thing too since I dig me some Bo Diddley and don’t have all that much of his original vinyl in the crates.

He was one of the true elemental forces of the Chess/Checker Chitown arsenal, alongside Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and Chuck Berry (and many others, but those are the stony visages on that particular Mt Rushmore).

The cool thing is, though Bo has shared roots with some of his labelmates, in many ways he is the very definition of sui generis, straddling the worlds of the electric blues and rock’n’roll, existing on a stylistic island all his own. This is not to say that he did not at times record what might be seen as conventional blues or rock, but rather that at his best, with tunes like the eponymous ‘Bo Diddley’, he created something without equal.

One need only look at his impact on the British Invasion (and all that flowed from it) to realize that that darkness you sensed was actually his titanic shadow draped over the whole thing. London in 1963 was almost like Jackson Pollock had dipped his brushes in a huge vat of Bo Diddley and splattered it every which way. The Kinks, Pretty Things (named for a Bo song with no less than four of his tunes on their first album), Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, Rolling Stones, Yardbirds and many others, all quaking in their pointy boots from the reverberato shock wave started by Bo Diddley’s massive stomp and rightly so because even though this lot liked to pay tribute to Messrs Morganfield, Burnett, Reed et al, nobody smacked them in the gob like Bo Diddley, because where all of the others were deep and menacing, Bo Diddley was also fun in his own, oblong, horn-rimmed, wobble-legged way.

Bo was the shit, and the tune I bring you today (which I first heard by the aforementioned Pirates, who lay it down with a rockabilly twang which is also cool since Bo’s version has a little country in it) is just another bit of evidence in that case.

‘I Can Tell’ is Bo’s rough-edged lament at a love cast aside, packed end to end with his ringing guitar, Jerome’s maraccas, and someone pumping a bass guitar con brio.

The fact that he manages to namecheck no less a light than Charlie Brown – the greatest sack of sad that the world has ever known – as the guy that elbowed in on his action speaks volumes.

You can just see his eyes rolling back into his head when he finally loses his shit and shouts ‘I Can Tell You Don’t Love Me No More!!!’

Heavy, heavy stuff, and if someone doesn’t get their shit together and erect a huge statue in his image soon…well…I don’t know what I’ll do but it ain’t gonna be nice.

That said, have a lovely weekend and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

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Bo Diddley, DJ Gigs, Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners@Viva Internet Radio, Original Versions, R&B, Radio Show, Soul | Chicago Soul, Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners Radio, Soul

F16C Radio v.93 – Half “Mental”

Listen/Download – F16C Radio v.93 – Half ‘Mental’ – 116MB/256K Mixed MP3

By Larry, April 3, 2011 3:18 pm

Slap those keys Mr. Reeder!

Doc Bagby – Mix It Up (Vim)
Donald Height – Soul Monkey Twist (Jubilee)
Gate Wesley and Band – Do the Thing (Atlantic)
Four Gents – Soul Sister (HBR)
Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts – Instrumental (Jubilee)
Ike & Tina Turner – Tina’s Dilemma (Sue)
Eskew Reeder – Green Door (Minit)
Baby Lloyd – the Dog (Smash)
Jon Thomas – Hot Tip (Mercury)
African Beavers – You Got Something (RCA)
Mark III Trio – Cagey (Downhill)
Bunker Hill – Hide and Go seek (Intermission)
Tempos – Monkey Doo (Fairmount)
Chet Poison Ivey – Poo Poo Man (Bee Cee)
Hollywood Persuaders – Last Night (Original Sound)
Carl Holmes and the Commanders – Mash Potatoes Pt1 (Atlantic)
The Sunglows – Happy Hippo (Sunglow)
Chuck Edwards – Chuck Roast (Roulette)
Rivingtons – Papa Oo Mow Mow (Liberty)
Turtles – Buzz Saw (White Whale)
Candy Phillips – Timber Pt1 (Atlantic)
Emperors – Tic Tac Toe (unreleased)
Ray Sharpe – Help Me (Get the Feeling) Pt1 (Atco)
Wynder K Frog – Dancing Frog (UA)
Shadows of Knight – Shake (Team)

NOTE: This mix is NSFW, in that it will inspire all manner of odd behavior, but also because the drops within are meant for mature audiences. So don’t play this in front of your kids unless you’re ready for some ‘splainin.

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well.

Me, I’m cool (maybe depends on who you ask….)

Gonna get things started this week a note of thanks and a slew of DJ gig announcements.

First, I’d like to say thank you to the Funky16Corners readers, and especially my wife’s knitting pals (who clicked through the donation link here at F16C) who helped us raise money for the POAC Autism Walk this past Saturday. It’s not too late to throw a couple of bucks into the till for a very worthy cause, so I’ll leave the link below for this post.

Now to the gigs…

Before we get things rolling I should mention that I will be returning to Spindletop @ Botanica next Monday, 4/11 for more of the good stuff. I always look forward to packing up the 45RPM heat and hanging with my man Perry Lane. I realize that Monday night isn’t everyone’s ‘get out and hang’ night, but if you are so inclined you could do a lot worse than joining me for some hot 45s and some cold drinks.

Now, Saturday, that’s a CLASSIC get out of the house and dance your ass off kind of night, and it just so happens that April 16th I will be spinning at the legendary Subway Soul Club alongside the mighty Connie T Empress (Empire State Soul Club and the early days of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions) and SSC resident Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. This shindig occurs at Public Assembly (70 North 6th Street, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and runs from 10PM until 4AM the following morning. Subway Soul Club feature 60s soul and R&B with an emphasis on Northern.

You know I’m a Northern Soul nut, and my crates run deep with the stuff. I’ll be packing only the finest midtempo and storming dancers into my 45RPM steamer trunk (as well as some gritty 60s movers) , so if slipping and sliding on the talc is the bag you’re in, or just doing the Philly Dog, the Monkey (Boston or other…), the Jerk, or any of the other classic steps, you need to bring your feet and your ears on down to Subway Soul.

Then (YES, There’s MORE!!), I’ll be motoring up to Massachusetts for what promises to be an absolute burner of a weekend.

Friday 4/22 I’ll be joining DJ Andujar and Studebaker Hawk for Sweet Excorcist @ The Peoples Pint, 24 Federal St in Greenfield Mass, and then on Saturday 4/23 I’ll be spinning alongside DJ Cashman and Snack Attack at Wooly Bully @ the Basement, 21 Center St, Northampton Mass. I’ll be packing all manner of deep funk, hard charging party soul, latin boogaloo and even some funky reggae. Both of these nights are banging, so I look forward to bringing the very busy month of April to a loud, sweaty close. Won’t you join us??

To say that I have sweated over the mix you see before you would be at the very least an understatement. Though the overall number of mixes posted here has certainly increased, the flow of the old school, non-live Funky16Corners Radio jawns has been lean.

This has everything to do with the increase in both the F16C Soul Club series (live recordings) and the weekly Funky16Corners Radio Shows.

I am – despite rumors to the contrary – but a solitary man, and one can only turn out so much product without blowing some kind of mental gasket, so I figured that I would take my time with the ‘regular’ mixes in an attempt to make them a little more special.

That said, this particular mix has been germinating for a long time, first in my fevered brain, then on the old laptop where it has seen no less than four separate ‘drafts’, the last of which is posted above.

Funky16Corners Radio v.93 – Half Mental (as in “instru” but also crazed) is my attempt to recreate the spirit of the smoky taverns, sweaty frat house basements* and other places where people gathered to dance (and or grind) in close proximity to loud, soulful music while spilling their beverages (and whatever else gets spilled on nights like this) on the floor (and each other).

This is not music to let into your ears passively.

While you may choose to close your eyes, plug in your earbuds and have a frat party of the mind, you’d be better served cranking this stuff up in an overpacked room full of funseekers, with at least a few people fired up enough to start singing along into their beer bottles while they stagger about breaking your stuff (I can’t keep anything nice in here…).

There’s all kinds of powerful stuff in here, including the soul, the greasy Hammond groovers, (African) Beavers, Monkeys, Dogs, Hippos and Frogs and enough high octane slop to get even the drowsiest bore off of his can and out on the floor.

Normally, I would reserve such a punch in the head for a Friday, but I figured that if you were to grab the ones and zeros on a Monday, you’d have all week to get your friends together to dig it with you.

I’m not going to say much more, nor am I doing a zip file on this one. Pulling this apart would be like dissecting a peanut butter and jelly sang-weech. The pieces just aren’t the same as eating the whole thing.

So, pull down the mix (and your pants if that’s how you swing), spill some beer and get with the party.

See you later in the week.

Peace

Larry

*Just to provide a frame of reference, Carl Holmes and the Commanders were a regular attraction at Chris Millers Dartmouth U frat back in the early days of the 60s, providing (alongside folks like Lonnie Youngblood) the model a decade and a half further on up the road for Otis Day and the Knights when Miller would co-write ‘Animal House’. Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts were working the same (if a lot dirtier) vibe south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk.

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 for some very tasty UK Folk Rock.

DJ Gigs, Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners Radio, Hammond Grooves, Instrumental, LP tracks, R&B, Soul, Soul 45 | Funky16Corners, Hammond Organ, Live Gigs, Soul

F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop A-Go-Go

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By Larry, March 31, 2011 10:45 am

Oh, yes…

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop A-Go-Go 71MB/256K Mixed MP3

Brothers Two – Boogaloo Soul Party (Crimson)
Roy Lee Johnson – Boogaloo #3 (Josie)
Barbara Lynn – Club A Go Go (Tribe)
Norman T Washington – Jumping Jack Flash (Pama)
Eyes of Blue – Heart Trouble (Deram)
Lil Bob and the Lollipops – I Got Loaded (La Louisianne)
Wayne Cochran – Goin’ back to Miami (Mercury)
Chet Poison Ivey and His Fabulous Avengers – Shake a Poo Poo (TRC)
Willie Tell and the Overtures – Soul Ranger (Chess)
Interpretations – Snap Out (Bell)
Syl Johnson – Different Strokes (Twilight)
Mad Men – African Twist Pt1 (Gamble)
Sir Lattimore Brown – Shake and Vibrate (SS7)
Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1 (Fat Back)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Shotgun Man (Smash)
Jeanne & the Darlings – Soul Girl (Volt)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and as is almost always the case, so is the end of my patience/energy.

This has been a very busy week, blog-o-rifically and lifewise, and sometimes it seems that the challenges just keep on coming, like lining up outside my door like I’m handing out hundred dollar bills and grilled cheese sandwiches, and then going around the back so they can get in line again to kick me in the ass.

Not everything is bad, since it looks like April is going to be a very busy month DJ-wise, but as always, it’s just a matter of getting all of my psychotic ducks in a row.

When I get all the gig details ironed out, I will make announcements in this space.

That said, it’s time again to remind you all that if you are not otherwise occupied Friday night at 9PM, you should roll on up to the intertubes and grab you some Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. I always endeavor to bring you the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all culled from vinyl, all engineered for your listening pleasure. If you can’t be there at broadcast time, you can always pick up the shows in MP3 form over the weekend here at the blog.

As promised, I’m posting the second live set from last week’s Spindletop @ Botanica. This time you get more of the partying grooves, including one of my faves by an artist who was taken from us unexpectedly last week, the mighty Sir Lattimore Brown.

There’s all kinds of groovy stuff in the mix, all good’n’greasy enough to get the laziest SOB up off their butt and out onto the floor.

Speaking of getting out on the floor, I’ve been hard (and I do mean hard) at work this week cooking up a very tasty mix that will most definitely loosen up your wig and heat up your shorts. I will be dropping it on Monday, so make sure you have lots of ice, potato chips and several varieties of potent spirits, ‘cuz you’re going to need them.

That said, enjoy the sounds, have yourself a groovy weekend and I’ll be back on Monday with more of the stuff you love.

Peace

Larry

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Jackie Mittoo – Soul Finger and some loose ends tied up…

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By Larry, March 29, 2011 11:46 am

Jackie Mittoo and a huge stone lion…

~~Listen/Download – Jackie Mittoo – Soul Finger~~

~~Listen/Download – Jackie Mittoo – Who Done It~~

~~Listen/Download – Byron Lee and the Dragonaires – Who Done It~~

Greetings all.

I hope everyone is feeling groovy in the middle of week.

As I mentioned in Monday’s post, I’ve been in discussions about some cool DJ stuff in the next few months, and as soon as it’s all firmed up I’ll pass on all the details to you.

I would also like to request once again that if you have a couple of bucks you feel like throwing at a very good cause, please click on the POAC link below. The whole Funky16Corners fam will be walking to raise money for autism services here in the area. This is a cause that hits very close to home (so close as to actually be in it), so anything you can do is greatly appreciated (and many thanks to those of you who have already donated).

Today’s post manages to both bring you something new, and do a little bit of a call-back/clarification to an earlier post.
I’ll go ahead and assume that most of you are already familiar with the name Jackie Mittoo.

Mittoo was one of the most prominent ska/rock steady/reggae organists (playing with the Skatalites and the Soul Vendors among others) in Jamaica during the 60s, before he relocated to Canada at the end of the decade. He continued to play and record until his untimely death on 1990.

Like most other Jamaican musicians of the time, Mittoo was a big fan of American soul and funk, and recorded his fair share of cover material (one of my fave being ‘Hip Hug’ his funky take on Booker T and the MGs ‘Hip Hug Her’).

Back in October of last year I posted a very groovy cover of Monk Higgins ‘Who Dun It?’ as recorded/retitled by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires as ‘Who Done It’. The version on that album gave writer’s credit to Jackie Mittoo, and at the time I wondered if it were him playing on the track (the Lee album didn’t list any individual musicians).

Flash forward a few months and I needed a 12 x 12 picture frame, so I took down my copy of the ‘Jackie Mittoo in London’ album, which had been hanging over my turntables for a few years. I grabbed it originally maybe 10 years ago, recorded the cuts I liked and filed it, forgetting until I took it down that it also contained a version of ‘Who Done It’.

I re-recorded a couple of tracks for the blog, and decided to go back and compare the version from ‘Jackie Mittoo In London’ with the one I posted last year (reposted above).

As it turns out, the arrangement is very similar, with the earlier version by Mittoo winning out (at least to my ears).

While this doesn’t exactly confirm that Mittoo is playing on the Lee album (that could very well be someone who wasn’t familiar with the Higgins OG and copying/crediting Mittoo’s arrangement), it pushed me a little further in that direction.

That said, the cut I was originally going to post today, was Mittoo’s excellent cover version of the Bar-Kays’ ‘Soul Finger’. Here you get Mittoo’s organ subbing for the Bar-Kays horns (though there is a trumpet in the mix), and someone (not sure who) laying down a very tasty guitar solo. The only clue that this is from a reggae album is the sound of the second lead guitar, and the somewhat suspect fidelity (as opposed to ‘Who Done It’ which is played with a rock steady beat).

Both cuts are very cool and I hope you dig them.

I’ll be back on Friday with the second mix from last week’s Spindletop gig.

Peace

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg for some late period British Beat.

Cover Songs, DJ Gigs, Funky16Corners, Hammond Grooves, Instrumental, LP tracks, Reggae, Soul | Funky16Corners, Hammond Organ, Island Soul, Reggae, Soul

F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop New Breed

Comments (4)

By Larry, March 24, 2011 9:31 am

Listen to him Lucy. He know’s what he’s talking about.

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop New Breed 76MB/256K Mixed MP3

Jimmy Hannah & the Dynamics – Leaving Here (Seafair/Bolo)
Frank Frost – My Back Scratcher (Jewel)
Bobby Powell – Why Am I Treated So Bad (Whit)
Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm – The New Breed Pt1 (Sue)
Richard Berry & the Pharaohs – Louie Louie (Flip)
Roy Thompson – Sookie Sookie (Okeh)
Mighty Hannibal – Jerkin’ the Dog (Shurfine)
Bobby Parker – Watch Your Step (V Tone)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling Pt1 (Fairmount)
Roger & the Gypsies – Pass the Hatchet Pt1 (Seven B)
Scatman Crothers – Golly! Zonk! It’s Scatman (HBR)
Derek Martin – Daddy Rollin’ Stone (Crackerjack)
King Coleman – Boo Boo Song Pt2 (King)
Billy Preston – Let the Music Play (Capitol)
Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In the Basement Pt1 (Chess)
Dottie Cambridge – He’s About a Mover (MGM)
Freddie Scott – Pow City! (Marlin)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and I am in dire need of some form of stress relief, whether it’s extended, uninterrupted sleep, intoxication of some sort or just deep, silent meditation.

It’s not that this week has been extraordinarily rough, ‘cause it hasn’t, but rather some combination of not enough sleep (DJ-ing two hours away on a Monday night will do that), a cold (and/or the onset of seasonal allergies) and the normal slate of irritants, have all combined to do a number on my head.

That said, I’m going to take a tip from the Sims Twins and let a little soul music ‘Soothe Me’.

First, I’ll remind you that this Friday night at 9PM the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to Viva Radio with another hour of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all straight from my crates to your ears. As always you can either tune in on the interwebs, or come by here over the weekend to pick up the show in its easy to use MP3 form. Either way, the sounds are equally excellent.

I had a gas on Monday spinning at Spindletop, and managed once again to capture the goings on with my handheld digital recorder, so that I might share some of it with you good folks.

I went through the musical fruits (no beans…) of the evening and carved out two sets of grooves, one of which I’ll whip on you today, the second which I’ll drop at the end of next week.

This time out I dipped into the crates and whipped out the best in hard-charging, soul party action, from gritty R&B, tough dance floor soul, right on to early funk.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, that one of the prime reasons I love to DJ in a bar or club is the opportunity to hear really amazing records pumping out of a great big set of speakers. You can set the Mighty Hannibal loose in your earbuds, but it’s just not as cool as hearing him unwind his turban with ‘Jerkin’ the Dog’ shaking a room full of people like a minor earthquake.

Every single one of the records in these mixes is perfect for such an environment. I’d go as far as to say that gathered together like this, they might be too powerful for a Friday or Saturday, yet pack just enough musical TNT to set things off on a Monday.

If I was you, I’d pull down the ones and zeros, hit the liquor store, invite over some friends, roll back the carpet and turn up the stereo and do like Mr. Waiters says:

Jump back honey and let the New Breed by!

See you on Monday

Peace

Larry

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Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some Laurel Canyon cool from Mama Cass.

Blue Eyed Soul, Cover Songs, DJ Gigs, Funk, Funk 45, Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners Radio, Funky16Corners Soul Club, Funky16Corners@Viva Internet Radio, Instrumental, Live Mixes, R&B, Radio Show, Soul, Soul 45 | Funk, Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners Radio, Live Gigs, Soul

Ohio Players – Find Someone To Love

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By Larry, March 17, 2011 1:11 pm

The Ohio Players

~~Listen/Download -Ohio Players – Find Someone To Love~~

Greetings all.

I hope you’re all ready to shed the week and slip on into the weekend.

Before we wrap things up, I’d like to remind you that I’ll be back in NYC spinning the 45s with soul this coming Monday at Spindletop @ Botanica. It’s a very groovy scene and I assure that I only bring 100% USDA certified soul 45s, guaranteed to move your feet, and under the proper circumstances, strengthen your pimp hand.

You should also tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio, this Friday night at 9PM for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from vinyl sources. As always, if you are otherwise occupied at the time of broadcast, you can always fall by the blog over the weekend and pick up the show in convenient MP3 form.

Now, about the funk…

The tune I bring you today is a bit of instrumental genius from the early days of the mighty Ohio Players.

With a lineage that goes back to 1959 (when the group came together as the Ohio Untouchables), on into their mid-decade rebirth as the Ohio Players, after which they worked in New York as the house band for Compass Records (releasing two singles for the label in 1967 and 1968).

They were working with producer Johnny Brantley’s Vidalia productions when they hooked up (for one album) with Capitol Records.

The tune I bring you today comes from that partnership.

Interestingly, their recording from this period, for both Compass and Capitol had been recirculated on the exploit/ripoff label Trip/Upfront as the album ‘First Impressions’, which is where I first heard ‘Find Someone To Love’. Their Capitol LP, ‘Observations In Time’ isn’t incredibly rare, or expensive (copies go for between 40 and 100 bucks) but it doesn’t show up that often.

The group’s vocal material from this period has always reminded me of the Parliaments stuff from the mid-60s, with a slightly more raucous edge.

‘Find Someone To Love’ features Sugarfoot Bonner’s wobbly, deeply funky guitar prominently, as well as hard hitting drums, droning organ and the band’s horn section. It’s a much deeper, grittier groove than the flashy, fonky stuff they’d hit the charts with a few years later.

Not exactly the Love Rollercoaster, more like the funhouse on the way there.

I dig it a lot, and I hope you do too.

See you on Monday (either here or in NYC).

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some insane surf instros.

DJ Gigs, Funk, Funk 45, Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners@Viva Internet Radio, Instrumental, Soul, Soul 45 | Funk, Funky16Corners, Soul

The Eyes of Blue – Heart Trouble

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By Larry, March 10, 2011 11:12 am

The Eyes of Blue

~~Listen/Download – The Eyes of Blue~~

Greetings all.

The end of a very long week is here, and despite pounding out more than my quota of words and such, I’m still ready and raring to go.

But first this update from the Funky16Corners newsroom…

This Friday night at 9PM the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns once again to Viva Radio, with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all brought to you with the hot wax squeezed through the digital meat grinder and transplanted onto the throbbing airwaves of the interwebs. This week we have more of the groovy gravy you have come to know and love, including some cool new arrivals.

As always, if you are otherwise occupied during our normal time slot, you can always fall by the blog over the weekend to collect your very own MP3 copy of this week’s show that you may insert onto the pod-like thingy of your choice.

Oh, and this…

I mentioned that I’m all fired up, and the record I bring you today is the reason why.

I can say with some certainty that the Eyes of Blue version of ‘Heart Trouble’ made its way into my ears some time during the mighty mod days of the mid-80s, courtesy of the tape-making mania of my man Mr Luther. From that moment it was lodged in my brain like the thorn in the foot of Androcles lion, nagging at me for decades until the day when a copy this very 45 and yours truly finally intersected.

I had copies of the song on tape, and then CD, but as any DJ worth their wax will tell you, when a record really knocks you out, until you have a copy in your box to whip on the groovers (which I will be doing when I return to Spindletop on 3/21), nothing else matters.

As I said, the song blew my mind but got even better when I found out that the song in question had originally been recorded by the Parliaments.

In fact, the Parliaments version is the rarest of their 45s, pulling in a few hundred smackers when it shows up.

The original version by Mr. Clinton and his pals was released on Detroit’s storied Golden World imprint in 1966. Written by George Clinton and Sidney Barnes, the original version (which can be heard here) is not only one of the group’s finest songs, but a certified Motor City soul classic. The lyrics would resurface years later in the Funkadelic song “You Can’t Miss What You Can’t Measure”.

That said, the Parliaments never got its due, and remains as obscure as it is good.

Which begs the question where did the Eyes of Blue, the pride of Neath, Wales get their hands on it?

While Northern Soul hadn’t really happened yet, there was certainly a soul scene in the UK, and it seems entirely possible that the Eyes of Blue heard the song in any number of clubs, or even played on the radio.

Ultimately, what matters is that they not only met the Parliaments on their own musical turf, and I would go as far as to say bested them when they waxed the tune for Deram in 1967*.

How do I arrive at this somewhat controversial conclusion?

Well, there are a couple of reasons, first and foremost being that the Eyes of Blue (ironic name for what might be termed blue-eyed soul, a subgenre we will henceforth refer to as – in the words of reader George Macklin – “equal opportunity soul”) version of ‘Heart Trouble’ is without any question one of the two or three finest mod soul covers ever recorded, up there alongside numbers like the Action’s epic version of the Radiants ‘Baby You’ve Got It’ and the Artwoods take on Solomon Burke’s ‘Keep Looking’.

It has a sonic power that the original lacks, and a fantastic vocal by Gary Pickford Hopkins sounding like a rougher-edged Paul Jones.

The Eyes of Blue version record is every bit as danceable as the Parliaments and then some.

Where the original has a more complex vocal mix – with female backing singers and a powerful male bass vocal – as well as strings (a role taken in the Eyes of Blue version by piano), the cover builds its power in an entirely different way. The beat is constructed on powerful snare drum hits, which are the mimicked by the tambourine, piano chords and pumping bass guitar.

Whenever you run into a cover of a soul tune by a white band, there are always perceived issues of authenticity, with ‘perceived’ being the operative term.

Our friends in the UK had a serious jones for US soul and R&B, and there were tons of such covers recorded with widely varying levels of success. When I tell you that I first fell in love with the song ‘Our Love Is In the Pocket’ when I heard the version by Amen Corner, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you while it’s groovy in its own way it doesn’t really stack up favorably with the versions by Darrell Banks or JJ Barnes and the same could be said for the Alan Bown Set’s cover of Edwin Starr’s ‘Headline News’.

However, every once in a while you get the perfect pairing of band and song that manages to transcend a soul original, and this is one of those times.

Oddly, the Eyes of Blue, which got its start as an R&B/soul band, recorded one more 45 for Deram, the excellent ‘Supermarket Full of Cans’ before signing with Mercury and morphing into a much heavier, prog/psych concern, with members of the band ending up in groups like Man, Gentle Giant and Wild Turkey.

I hope you dig this one as much as I do, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*What you see before you is a US issue of the 45. Go to this 2004 article in the Funky16Corners web zine for a gander at the UK pressing.

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PS Head over to Iron Leg for some interesting late 60s pop.

Cover Songs, DJ Gigs, Equal Opportunity Soul, Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners@Viva Internet Radio, Northern Soul, Soul, Soul 45 | Funky16Corners, Northern Soul, Soul

F16C Soul Club – Spindletop Northern Soul Pt4