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By Larry, March 11, 2018 11:13 am

The Mothership,now boarding…

Parliament/Intro
Afro-Samurai
Dick Hyman – Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose
Capt Sisko
Jimi Hendrix – 1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)
Morpheus/1
Scientist – The Dark Secret of the Box
Morpheus/2
Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations
Gene Harris – Don’t Call Me Ni**er Whitey
The Brother From Another Planet
Phil Upchurch – Elektrik
Lando Calrissian
Electrostats – 21st Century Kenya
Mace Windu
Isaac Redd Holt Unlimited – Listen to the Drums
Darth Vader
Roots Radics Band – Son of Darth Vader
Mr Spock/Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Brother Jack McDuff – Moon Rappin’ (Edit)
Lt Uhura
Rotary Connection – Tales of Brave Ulysses
Danger Mouse/Murs/Free Design – To a Black Boy
Shuggie Otis – Pling!
EddieHarris feat Blind Willie Johnson – Dark Were the Silver Cycles (F16C Mash)
Sun Ra

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: The Mothership Mix

Note: What you see before you is a re-post of a mix I did (one of my faves) back in 2014 to accompany a literary anthology (see story below). It was (and remains) a bit of a departure for Funky16Corners, but I dig it and I think you will too. – Larry

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Greetings all

Welcome to the new week.

I have something very groovy for you today.

A while back, one of my favorite Facebook-made acquaintances, the author Bill Campbell told me that he was assembling an anthology of afrofuturistic stories, and was thinking about using a mix as part of the Indiegogo campaign.

That anthology, ‘Mothership: Tales From Afrofuturism and Beyond’ is very, very cool, and I would suggest you avail yourself of a copy either in paper, or digital form. Make sure to check out the Rosarium Publishing web site as well.

Always looking for an interesting challenge, I offered my services in furtherance of that goal, and Bill said yes.

The mix you see before you is one of those that I had rolling around the back alleys of my mind for a long time before I actually stated pulling out records, digging for drops etc.

The concept of afrofuturism is especially intriguing, and the thought of finding its application in musical form really got me thinking.

There are musicians included in this mix that worked the conceptual side of things rather directly, like Jimi Hendrix and George Clinton, and some that worked their way into the groove stylistically (Eddie Harris, Shuggie Otis) and others that just created a specific piece of music that seemed destined for inclusion in the mix (Dick Hyman’s epic reworking of JB for instance).

I was trying to create a vibe – which is what you ought to be doing with a mix, anyway – but in this instance, it was far removed from the dance floor and drilled deep inside the head (via the ears, naturally).

This is definitely one for the headphones, trippy, often deep, sometimes weird and in several spots traveling outside the known boundaries of the Funky16Corners universe.

I’m proud to have been given the opportunity to work with Bill, and very happy with the mix.

I hope you dig it too.

I’ll be back later in the week with another brand new mix.

Keep the faith

Larry

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, November 27, 2016 12:24 pm

The Queen and the King: Richard and Jimi, on stage

Listen/Download – Little Richard – I Don’t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s Got Me Pt1 MP3

Listen/Download – Little Richard – I Don’t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s Got Me Pt2 MP3

Greetings all.

It occurred to me that today (11/27) was the birthday of none other than Jimi Hendrix.

Though I have always been a huge fan of Jimi’s post-Blue Flames work (i.e. Experience/Band of Gypsys), this being the Funky16Corners blog, we have dedicated ourselves to the soulful side of things, and Jimi had himself some experience (pun intended) on that side of the stylistic fence as well.

So much so, that I dedicated an entire episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show to Jimi’s early work (and his influence on the soul and funk world) this June.

Of the early records included in that broadcast, my favorite – because it represents an intersection of two of the great musical forces of the second half of the 20th century – is Little Richard’s 1965 ‘I Don’t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s Got Me Pts 1&2’.

Recorded in a NYC session with Hendrix, Don Covay (the author of the tune), Billy Preston, and Bernard Purdie, ‘I Don’t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s Got Me’ is a beautiful, gospel-inflected slice of deep soul, showing a side of Little Richard you don’t get to hear too often.

Little Richard represents something deeper than mere music for me. He is an elemental force, tying together rock, soul, R&B and gospel and his cultural impact was immeasurable.

He is best known as a screamer and a shouter (of which there were none better), but to hear him open up and get deep like he does in ‘I Don’t Know What You’ve Got, But It’s Got Me’ is something special indeed.

Though Hendrix plays on the tune, this is in no way a guitar tour de force, which is cool because he would do plenty of that later on, but the way the guitar winds in and out of the fairly spare mix, and the almost funereal horn section is wonderful.

Richard spends the first half of the record delivering a straight up ballad (with someone, maybe Covay, singing backup deep in the mix). The second half opens with a monologue by Richard, which gets melodramatic, and edges right up to the border of hysterical, yet gets reined in before dropping back into the song.

It’s another one of those records that demands repeated listens.

I love it.

I’m also including the link to the entire episode, where there are a number of other early  45s where you can hear Jimi clearly.

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Show #319. Originally broadcast 06/10/2016

The Soul Roots of Jimi Hendrix

Don Covay – Mercy Mercy (Rosemart)
Isley Brothers – Testify Pts 1&2 (T-Neck)
Little Richard – Dance a Go Go (Vee Jay)
Little Richard – I Don’t Know What You’ve Got (But It’s Got Me) Pts 1&2 (Vee Jay)

Ray Sharpe – Help Me (Get The Feeling) Pts 1&2 (Atco)
Billy LaMont – Sweet Thang (20th Century Fox)
Lonnie Youngblood – Go Go Shoes/Go Go Place (Fairmount)
Lonnie Youngblood – Soul Food (That’s What I Like) (Fairmount)
Lonnie Youngblood – Goodbye Bessie Mae (Fairmount)

Johnny Jones and the King Casuals – Purple Haze (Brunswick)
Booker T and the MGs – Foxy Lady (Stax)
Kossie Gardner – Fire (Dot)
Phil Upchurch – Crosstown Traffic (Cadet)
Rotary Connection – Burning of the Midnight Lamp (Cadet Concept)
Ellen McIlwaine – Up From the Skies (Polydor)
Idris Muhammad – The Power of Soul (Kudu)

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.