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By Larry, July 10, 2014 1:07 pm

Roosevelt Grier (L), Clyde McPhatter (R)

Listen/Download Roosevelt Grier – In My Tenement

Listen/Download Clyde McPhatter – In My Tenement

Greetings all

The end of the week is approaching, so I thought I’d remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you prefer to do the pod-thing, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 out of the archive here at Funky16Corners.

The tune(s) I bring you today are one of the interesting intersections of artist and song that I’ve come across in the last few years.

I first heard of the song ‘In My Tenement’ (written by Bobby Scott and Artie Resnick) when I started researching the singer Jackie Shane (more here).

Not long after that I picked up a copy of Roosevelt Grier’s 1964 LP on the RIK label.

Grier, best known as a professional football player and TV personality had a very groovy sideline as a soul singer during the 60s. Many of the records he made during that period are quite good and I pick them up whenever I find them.

So, what turns up on Rosie’s LP but another version of ‘In My Tenement’, which as it turns out is also sought after in 45 form, often pulling in a couple of hundred bucks.

Then, a few months ago, while chasing down some of Clyde McPhatter’s later recordings, what do I encounter but his version of ‘In My Tenement’, also recorded and released in 1964.

The weird thing is, none of these recordings were hits, nor were they connected in any other way.

As far as I can tell Shane recorded in New York (with Juggy Murray), Grier in LA (with Bobby Darin!) and McPhatter somewhere (Nashville?) with Shelby Singleton.

The Shane and Grier versions are taken at a similar pace, with enough backbeat for the dancers (thus the cost of the 45s!), with McPhatter (more on his mid-60s recordings coming soon) taking things at a brisk pace.

I’m very curious about how the song got around so much.

There were always publisher’s demos circulating, so it’s possible that an aggressive song plugger got the tune to the right people.

Both Scott and Resnick were both successful songwriters (Scott had composed the music to ‘A Taste of Honey’, and Resnick would go on to be a mover in the the bubblegum sound later in the 60s).

The song was also covered by a group called the Lovers on the Agon label.

If anyone has any information on the history of the song (or any other versions) please let me know.

That said, have yourselves a groovy weekend, and I’ll see you all next week.

Keep the faith

Larry

 _________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, July 8, 2014 1:19 pm

The Olympics

Listen/Download The Olympics – Mine Exclusively

Greetings all

The mid-week doldrums were creeping up on me, so I felt the need for some hard-charging Northern Soul.

The mighty Olympics were one of those lucky groups to straddle the eras of 50s R&B and 60s soul.

They had their first string of hits from 1958 to 1960 with tunes like ‘Western Movies’, ‘Big Boy Pete’ and ‘Baby (Hully Gully)’, all working a Coasters-type groove.

They continued to record for labels like Tri-Disc and Loma (where they waxed the original version of ‘Good Lovin’ in 1965) eventually landing at the storied LA soul label Mirwood.

It was with Mirwood that they would place two records in the R&B Top 30 in 1966, one of which is he record you see before you today, ‘Mine Exclusively’.

Co-written by Bob Relf and Sherlie Matthews, ‘Mine Exclusively’ is one of the finest soul dancers to come out of Los Angeles in the 60s.

Oddly enough, I first encountered the song in a long-lost 1988 film called ‘The In Crowd’.

The story of Philadelphia teens from opposite sides of the tracks meeting on a dance party show (with a host that bore an uncanny resemblance to Jerry ‘The Geator’ Blavat*).

The flick has lots of high energy dance scenes, and a surprisingly good soundtrack, featuring the Olympics, Tina Britt, the Marvelows, Five Du-Tones, Dobie Gray (of course), Wilson Pickett and more.

It’s a lot of fun, but doesn’t turn up much these days. It was never released on DVD and doesn’t make it onto TV too often.

That said, ‘Mine Exclusively’ opens with a powerful drum/handclaps combo and never lets up until the needle hits the run out groove. It’s a fine example of the kind of top notch records that Fred Smith and James Carmichael were making for Mirwood at the time.

I pick up Mirwood 45s wherever I find them, but if you’re not a wax-hound, you can grab the two excellent volumes of the The Mirwood Soul Story on CD or on iTunes. You will not be disappointed.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

*A resemblance so close that it was rumored to have resulted in legal action….

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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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, June 26, 2014 4:22 pm

Theresa Lindsey

Listen/Download Theresa Lindsey – Daddy-O

Listen/Download Theresa Lindsey – I’ll Bet You

Greetings all

The weekend is looming, so I’ll remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. You can also partake in the soulfulness by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or by grabbing an MP3 at the blog.

I’ve been wanting to drop today’s selection for a long time, but I wanted to wait until I was in the exactly right frame of mind.

A while back I was listening to Gail Smith’s most excellent ‘Work Your Soul’ podcast, when I encountered a song that shot right to all the soul-related pleasure centers of my brain. A quick glance at the playlist indicated that what I was digging was a tune called ‘Daddy-O’ by Theresa Lindsey.

Her name was already familiar as a Detroit-based singer who had recorded the original version of ‘I’ll Bet You’, which she co-wrote with George Clinton and Sidney Barnes (and was later recorded by Funkadelic, Billy Butler, Jean Carter and the Jackson Five).

What I discovered in short order (as soon as I set out in search of my own copy) was that ‘Daddy-O’ was the flipside of ‘I’ll Bet You’! Now I really had to get a copy!

Once I did (at what I would consider to be not too extreme an expense), I digimatized the 45 and played it over, and over and over again.

You see, ‘Daddy-O’ is one of the most sublime examples of the art form known as Detroit Soul that was ever created.

What you get here is a solid dancer’s beat, combined with a beautiful melody, a tight Detroit band and above all, the sexy, soulful delivery of Miss Theresa Lindsey.

This record is as close to perfect as it gets, my friends.

Opening with piano (the piano is really the heart of the band on this one), and then picking up with drums, vibes, bass and hand-claps, ‘Daddy-O’ is a showcase for Lindsey’s voice and the subtle backing vocals. There is no point where the essence of this record diverges from sublime wonderfulness, which makes it all the more surprising that it wasn’t a hit.

‘I’ll Bet You’ is taken at a brisk pace (much like the Billy Butler take from the following year) and features some tasty Dennis Coffey guitar licks.

Despite her obvious talents, Theresa Lindsey’s only chart success was a regional hit with her 1964 ‘Gotta Find a Way’ for the Correc-tone label.

Lindsey recorded a total of five singles, three for Correc-Tone, the one you see before you for Golden World, and then a UK-only release (recorded in New York) for the President label as ‘Terry Lindsey’.

Both sides of this 45 and some of her Correc-Tone recordings have been comped over the years, with both ‘Daddy-O’ and ‘I’ll Bet You’ currently available in iTunes (on a couple of shifty-looking comps).

That said, you can pull down the ones and zeros here, and bathe your ears in the goodness.

Have yourselves a great weekend, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 22, 2014 1:49 pm

Funky16Corners: The New Breed
Homer Banks – A Lot of Love (Minit)
Robert Parker – Secret Service (Makes Me Nervous) (Nola)
Clyde McPhatter – A Shot of Rhythm and Blues (Amy)
Delores Hall – Good Lovin’ Man (Keymen)
Dusty Springfield – Can I Get a Witness (Philips)
Fabulous Emotions – Number One Fool (Tamboo)
JJ Barnes – Real Humdinger (Ric Tic)
Jackie Wilson – I’ve Lost You (Brunswick)
Linda Jones – You Can’t Take It (Loma)
Marvelettes – Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead (Tamla)
Madeline Bell – Picture Me Gone (Philips)
Ron Moody and the Centaurs – The New Breed (Columbia)
Al Greene and the Soul Mates – Don’t Leave Me (Hot Line Music Journal)
Betty Harris – Mean Man (Sansu)
Theresa Lindsey – I’ll Bet You (Golden World)
Vibrations – Soul a Go Go (Okeh)
Bobby Sockers – Sock It To Me Bobby (RCA)
Jimmy Holiday – Love Me One More Time (Diplomacy)
The Soul Finders – Sweet Soul Music (Camden)
The Monitors – Number One In Your Heart (VIP)
Glories – (I Love You Babe But) Give Me My Freedom (Date)
Mamie Galore – It Ain’t Necessary (St Lawrence)
ZZ Hill – Don’t Make Promises (Kent)
Soul Brothers Six – Thank You Baby For Loving Me (Atlantic)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: Funky16Corners: The New Breed!

NOTE: Today’s mix is the final entry in the Funky16Corners 2014 Allnighter/Pledge Drive, and as is always the case, it’s yours truly, the proprietor batting clean-up.

Funky16Corners: The New Breed represents the best dance floor soul that has dropped into my record box in the last several months.

There are some real killers here, and you will certainly see many of them (and their stories) featured on the blog in the coming year.

Once again, I’d like to thank all the selectors for their mixes, and all of you readers/listeners for coming by to check it out, and helping to keep Funky16Corners up and running!

I’ll be back on Wednesday with the regular stuff, so stay tuned!

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Contest!

Anyone that donates today to the Allnighter/Pledge Drive will (in addition to getting the badge and stickers) be entered into a random drawing for a copy of the Fantastic Voyage 2-CD collection ‘Soul City Los Angeles’, a compilation of West Coast soul from labels like Arvee, Alladin, Liberty, Imperial, Ebb and SAR!
This is the final drawing for the Funky16Corners 2014 Allnighter/Pledge Drive!

___________________________________________________________________________

The winner of the Fantastic Voyage ‘Youths Boogie’ 2-CD comp is Rebecca Pang!
___________________________________________________________________________

Greetings all

Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This is the ninth annual Pledge Drive, and the fifth Allnighter.

If you haven’t experienced the Allnighter/Pledge Drive, it can be explained as thus: once a year, the Funky16Corners Blog, your home for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for almost 10 years comes to you with hand outstretched, asking for donations to offset the operating expenses of the web site.

The Funky16Corners ‘operation’ (as it is) included the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg blogs, the mix archives for both (containing well over 200 mixes), and the Funky16Corners Radio Show/Podcast (another 200+ files available for download, or through subscription in iTunes).

The money raised during the pledge drive goes to pay for the server space and fees associated with hosting the whole megillah.

As has been attested to many times in the past, Funky16Corners has humble beginnings, starting out on the old (free) Blogger service, moving to WordPress, and then to self-hosted WordPress. The move to paid hosting was necessitated by increased bandwidth usage, as well as the need for a place to store all the mixes (and eventually the radio show episodes).

The Allnighter/Pledge Drive is a once-yearly occurrence, in which yours truly, and some of the finest selectors out there whip up new mixes for your delectation.

In past years, I have posted all of the mixes in a single post, and left it up for a week.

This year, the quality and quantity of the mixes spurred me on to try something a little different, i.e. posting a new mix each weekday for a period of just over two weeks. This way, each selector gets their moment in the spotlight, and the mixes get spaced out so that the listeners don’t suffer from mix-fatigue.

Each day, you’ll get a fantastic mix (there really are some amazing ones this year) from one of my favorite DJs, many of whom have participated in the Allnighter before, as well as a couple of great new contributors.

So, if you dig what we do here at Funky16Corners, click on the Paypal link and toss some cash into the barrel.

Contributors will receive a 2014 Allnighter badge, as well as some stickers from the archive (as long as they last).

This year I will also be drawing the names of contributors at random for groovy swag, including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul, and CDs from Light in the Attic and Secret Stash.

So, dig the sounds for the next couple of weeks, and make sure you stop back on a daily basis to pick up new mixes and contribute for a chance to win some cool stuff.

Thanks, and as always,

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 10, 2014 11:20 am

Tony C – On the Soul Side
Toussaint McCall Baby You Got it- Ronn
Cash McCall I’m In Danger Checker
Garnet Mimms Prove it– United Artists
Jackie Ross Dynamite Lovin’- Chess
Radiants Please Don’t leave me Chess
Mitty Collier Help Me- Chess
Patti Drew Sufferer- Capitol
Tina Britt Who Was That- Veep
Lord Luther Tough- Lusan
Billy Mack Too Much- Philips
Johnny Sayles The Concentration- Chi Town
Emanuel Lasky Don’t Lead Me On Baby- Thelma
The Sharpees Make Up Your Mind- One-derful
D C Ramblers Hangin’ In There- Keynote
Gunga Din Crabcakes- Valise
Sonny Shankle Just Enough- Watts Way
Thelma Jones Mr Fixit- Barry
Betty Everett Too Hot To Hold-Vee Jay
Danny White Miss Fine Fine Fine-Frisco
Willie Small How High Can You Fly-Jessica
Dee Dee Warwick House Of Gold-Mercury
Otis Clay Show Place-One-derful
Buddy Lamp My Tears-Double L
Jimmy Nelson Tell Me Who-Chess
Willie Mays If You Love Me- Duke
Harold Burrage I’ll Take One-M.Pac!
Big Jay Bush Dynamite-Redbug

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: Tony C – On the Soul Side

NOTE: Today’s mix is this year’s contribution from the fantastic Tony C.
Mr Crampton is – like every other selector participating in this year’s Allnighter a man of exquisite taste, and as a result, an influence on yours truly.
Tony always brings a solid selection of tracks to his Allnighter mixes, and as always, I come away with some additions to my want list.
‘On the Soul Side’ is a hard-hitting hour of classic-era soul that’ll have you out of your seat moving and grooving.
I hope you dig it as much as I do.
See you tomorrow,
Larry

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Contest!

Anyone that donates today to the Allnighter/Pledge Drive will (in addition to getting the badge and stickers) be entered into a random drawing for a copy of the fantastic new Lugnutbrand Records single ‘Number One’ b/w ‘Bikes’ by the M-Tet!

‘Number One’ brings to mind the sunny side of Booker T and the MGs with just a taste of UK Library-style goodness, brought to you by organist Gary Pitman. ‘Bikes’ digs in slow and funky, with some heavy guitar by Joe Magnant. The production by bassist Chris Lujan is spot on.

The M-Tet brings the old-school heat in a new-school package.

This is a very groovy 45 indeed (I got my own copy by contributing to the band’s Kickstarter) and you can expect to hear it on future episodes of the Funky16Corners Radio Show.

There will be more drawings over the next few weeks for CDs by Cultures of Soul, Light In the Attic and Secret Stash, and 45s from Cultures of Soul!

___________________________________________________________________________

The winner of yesterday’s drawing for the ‘DJ Andy Smith’s Jam Up Twist’ CD is David Wykoff!

____________________________________________________________________________

Greetings all

Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This is the ninth annual Pledge Drive, and the fifth Allnighter.

If you haven’t experienced the Allnighter/Pledge Drive, it can be explained as thus: once a year, the Funky16Corners Blog, your home for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for almost 10 years comes to you with hand outstretched, asking for donations to offset the operating expenses of the web site.

The Funky16Corners ‘operation’ (as it is) included the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg blogs, the mix archives for both (containing well over 200 mixes), and the Funky16Corners Radio Show/Podcast (another 200+ files available for download, or through subscription in iTunes).

The money raised during the pledge drive goes to pay for the server space and fees associated with hosting the whole megillah.

As has been attested to many times in the past, Funky16Corners has humble beginnings, starting out on the old (free) Blogger service, moving to WordPress, and then to self-hosted WordPress. The move to paid hosting was necessitated by increased bandwidth usage, as well as the need for a place to store all the mixes (and eventually the radio show episodes).

The Allnighter/Pledge Drive is a once-yearly occurrence, in which yours truly, and some of the finest selectors out there whip up new mixes for your delectation.

In past years, I have posted all of the mixes in a single post, and left it up for a week.

This year, the quality and quantity of the mixes spurred me on to try something a little different, i.e. posting a new mix each weekday for a period of just over two weeks. This way, each selector gets their moment in the spotlight, and the mixes get spaced out so that the listeners don’t suffer from mix-fatigue.

Each day, you’ll get a fantastic mix (there really are some amazing ones this year) from one of my favorite DJs, many of whom have participated in the Allnighter before, as well as a couple of great new contributors.

So, if you dig what we do here at Funky16Corners, click on the Paypal link and toss some cash into the barrel.

Contributors will receive a 2014 Allnighter badge, as well as some stickers from the archive (as long as they last).

This year I will also be drawing the names of contributors at random for groovy swag, including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul, and CDs from Light in the Attic and Secret Stash.

So, dig the sounds for the next couple of weeks, and make sure you stop back on a daily basis to pick up new mixes and contribute for a chance to win some cool stuff.

Thanks, and as always,

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 29, 2014 11:18 am

Listen/Download The Other Brothers – It’s Been a Long Time Baby

Greetings all

The Funky16Corners 2014 Allnighter and Pledge Drive is arriving Friday, June 6th!

We have a stellar line up of selectors contributing mixes this year, and the mixes are killer.

The format will be slightly different this year, with a new mix being added each weekday from June 6 to June 20.

All donors this year will receive the new 2014 Funky16Corners badge (see the left side of the banner, above), as well as stickers from the archive (while they last). There will also be prizes every day (drawn at random) including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul, CDs from Light in the Attic and more!

It’s sure to be a gas, so stay tuned for more details in the coming week.

___________________________________________________________________________

As the weekend is approaching rapidly, I should take a moment to remind you to lend an ear to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which hits the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. You can also subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes or grab yourselves an MP3 here at the blog.

The record I bring you today was one of those happy little b-side discoveries.

I originally picked up this 45 for the very cool vocal version of ‘Hole In the Wall’ by the Other Brothers.

Released in 1966 – covering the Packers OG from 1965 – the Other Brothers take on the tune was groovy indeed (and covered in this space backin 2009).

Fortunately, I remembered to flip the record over when I was recording it, and discovered much to my delight that the b-side was also quite good, in an entirely different bag.

‘It’s Been a Long Time Baby’ is one of those melodic, hard charging tunes that should have found its way onto the radio, or at the very least, onto a Northern Soul playlist or two.

I’ve never been able to nail down any information on the Other Brothers.

There appears to have been a few different groups operating under than name during the 1960s, and the names on the 45 have not provided any leads.

That said, if your intention is to acquire 45s with the maximum amount of heat for dollar value, you could do a lot worse than adding this one to your record box.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 24, 2014 1:14 pm

Toby Lark

Listen/Download Toby Lark – Shake a Hand

Greetings all

The end of the week is near, so I will take a moment to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show hits the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you cannot be there to dig it at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcst in iTunes, or grab yourself an MP3 here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a very groovy, very funky number by a singer you probably know under another name.

I can’t remember exactly when or where I picked up the 45 you see before you today, but I probably grabbed it because the name of the singer rang a bell.

As it turns out, when I saw the name Toby Lark, I was probably thinking of the name Tobi Legend, which is a good thing, since as it turns out, they are both the same person.

Bessie Grace Gupton was born in Alabama but grew up in Detroit.

She spent most of her early years performing gospel, before going to work as a backing singer for BB King.

She first recorded for Jay Pee records in the early 60s as Bessie Watson, changing her name to Tobi Lark in 1964.

She would record for the Palmer, Topper and USD labels under that name before signing with Mala in 1968 and recording under the name Tobi Legend.

It was under that name that she waxed the Northern Soul classic (one of the famous ‘Three Before Eight’) ‘Time Will Pass You By’.

The following year found her recording under the name on today’s selection, Toby Lark.

‘Shake a Hand’ is a funky number, with Lark dipping back into her gospel roots, singing in a deeper, throatier style. The song, written by Joe Morris and first recorded in 1953 by Faye Adams (much slower, and a huge R&B hit), and covered over the years by everyone from Little Richard, to Magic Sam, to Elvis Presley.

She recorded two more 45s for Cotillion, and eventually settled in Canada, where she continues to perform.

I hope you dig the track,and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 10, 2014 1:34 pm

The Mighty Harvey Fuqua

Listen/Download Harvey – Any Way You Wanta

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which lights up the wireless each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you aren’t able to dig it at airtime, you can always keep up by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or by grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

I thought I’d end the week with something very groovy.

The first time I heard ‘Any Way You Wanta’ by Harvey (courtesy of my man Michael Newman) I pretty much flipped my wig.

There’s a Latin term (dropped here from time to time), ‘sui generis’ meaning ‘in a class or group of its own’ or ‘not like anything else’.

If ever there was a 45 for which this term was seemingly invented, ‘Any Way You Wanta’ is it, brother.

It pays to start by mentioning that Harvey, was in fact Harvey Fuqua, late of the Moonglows (they even take the time to mention that fact on the label). Fuqua had had a solid and very interesting career prior to this record, recording with the Moonglows, and duetting with Etta James on Chess.

He eventually found his way to Detroit, where he fell in with the various and sundry figures that would eventually give birth to the Motown organization.

Fuqua worked with Anna Gordy (sister of Berry), married Gwen Gordy (their other sister, who co-wrote this 45) and in addition to work on the Anna label (home to Barrett Strong’s ‘Money’) started his own Tri-Phi and Harvey labels where he would record a number of artists that would end up on Motown, like the Spinners, Junior Walker and Shorty Long.

‘Any Way You Wanta’ was recorded in 1962, but sounds like it could have come from anytime in the previous five years, or from Mars or some other crazy place.

The musical backing is fairly simple and straight ahead, but the vocals are – in the words of the kids – cray cray.

Ho-lee-shizzle, there’s a reason this record is sweated bigtime (and pulls in serious coin), and that is because it is possessed of a kind of odd magic that sounds like a mixture of pure enthusiasm, Tarzan, glue-sniffing and that wolf from the old Tex Avery cartoons.

Harvey spends the better part of two minutes and forty five seconds singing, howling, stuttering, calling out dance steps and occasionally throwing in whatever he can pull from his grab bag.

It’s really something else, though perhaps too much so, since I can only find one instance of ‘Any Way You Wanta’ charting anywhere, and not very high or for very long.

That said, since its inception, ‘Any Way You Wanta’ has become a big favorite of soul/R&B fans, even finding its way onto Northern Soul playlists.

Harvey Fuqua went on to be an important figure in the history of soul, as a songwriter, producer, performer and discoverer of artists like Marvin Gaye, New Birth and Sylvester.

He was a very serious cat indeed, passing away in 2010 at the age of 80.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, March 30, 2014 11:53 am

The Four Pennies in their later incarnation as the Hearts of Stone

Listen/Download The Four Pennies – You’re a Gas With Your Trash

Greetings all

I hope the new week finds you well.

Before we get started, I should direct you over to the archive page for my man Studebaker Hawk’s ‘Acapulco Nights’ radio show (on WMUA 91.1FM in Amherst, MA) where he has posted this week’s (3/29) episode, which included a tribute to Funky16Corners.

Make sure to bookmark the site because next week the show will include a special mix, put together by yours truly.

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The tune I bring you today is another one of those things that popped up on a sales list, sounded interesting (and was inexpensive), so I decided to scoop it up.

The song in question, ‘You’re a Gas With Your Trash’ (how could I pass up a title like that?) by the Four Pennies is a very groovy slice of mid 60s soul.

I had initially assumed (you know how that works…) that they were a Chicago group, due to the fact that they were on Brunswick.

When I finally started to poke around for information (finding some conflicting data) it turned out that the Four Pennies (not the UK beat group of the same name) had actually originated in Knoxville, Tennessee.

They got their start in the early 50s as the Five Pennies, eventually becoming (with a number of personnel changes along the way) the Chimes, and the 4 Jokers, evolving into the Four Pennies in the early 60s.

One of the group’s early members was none other than Clifford Curry, who recorded a number of cool soul 45s in the 60s including ‘She Shot a Hole In My Soul’.

They recorded two 45s for Brunswick in 1967, with ‘You’re a Gas With Your Trash’ coming out first.

Though the 45 was produced by James Chavis, I cannot confirm that this was the same guy that ran Chavis records in Delaware, which released a number of rare soul, garage and gospel 45s.

The song is a fast-moving dancer with lots of high harmonies and a honking sax that ties it to a slightly earlier R&B sound.

The Four Pennies would eventually evolve into the Hearts of Stone, recording an album for the Motown subsidiary VIP in the early 70s.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all 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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, March 16, 2014 12:56 pm

Jimmy Holiday

Listen/Download Jimmy Holiday – The New Breed

Listen/Download Jimmy Holiday – Love Me One More Time

Listen/Download Ron Moody and the Centaurs – The New Breed

Greetings all

I hope the new week finds you all welland in rapt anticipation of the oncoming Spring (despite all meteorological evidence to the contrary).

Today’s selections come to you well in advance of my original plans, thanks to a special request from a reader.

Naturally the story of how I got this record is quite convoluted (aren’t they all?).

A while back, a friend on Facebook posted a clip of a song called ‘The New Breed’ by a band called Ron Moody and the Centaurs.

It was a very groovy song indeed, and a little bit of research revealed that they were a white R&B band from Richmond, Virginia who recorded one 45, ‘The New Breed’ b/w ‘If I Didn’t Have a Dime’.

I wanted a copy of the 45, so I added it to my watch list and grabbed it when it popped up.

This is where things move into the ‘easier said than done’ category.

The package arrived, and I opened it to find…the wrong record.

I contact the seller who says that he must have sent the Ron Moody 45 to some guy in Germany (who was supposed to get the record that I got) and as soon as he gets it back from him, he’ll send it to me.

I figured I was never going to see the 45, but after going back and forth with the seller for a few months, it finally showed up!

I’m glad it did because the Centaurs version swings in a Beach Music stylee (the group had a following on that scene) and is very cool.

So I dig a little deeper and discover that ‘The New Breed’ was in fact a cover, having been originally recorded by a singer named Jimmy Holiday.

While the Centaurs version was cool, it paled (no pun intended) in comparison to Holiday’s original.

So I figured (as I always do…) that I ought to find myself a copy of the OG.

I checked Ebay (usually a good, basic gauge of whether or not a record is readily available), found a copy (graded VG) for five bucks and pulled the trigger.

When the record arrived, I discovered that the seller had under-graded the 45 (always cool) and also that the flip-side, ‘Love Me One More Time’ was a killer as well.

As it turns out, Jimmy Holiday was an interesting cat, indeed.

He recorded frequently through the 60s and early 70s, waxing more than two dozen 45s (and at least one LP) for labels like Everest, Diplomacy and Minit, all the while working as a songwriter, co-writing ‘Put A Little Love In your Heart’ for Jackie DeShannon, and working as a staff writer for Ray Charles’s Tangerine label.

He had a Top 10 R&B hit with “How Can I Forget’ in 1963 and placed one record a year into the R&B Top 40 in 1966, 1967 and 1968, as well as scoring a minor regional hit in a duet with Clydie King on ‘Ready, Willing and Able’ in 1967.

‘The New Breed’ b/w ‘Love Me One More Time’ was the first of his two 45s for the Diplomacy label in 1965*.

‘The New Breed’ is a hard charging floor-filler, with propulsive rhythm guitar and piano and a powerful horn section.

‘Love Me One More Time’ has a slightly heavier R&B edge, with a wailing vocal by Holiday.

The arrangements are by Jimmy Long who did a lot of work for Motown (Temptations, Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips).

Sadly, Jimmy Holiday passed away in 1989, at the age of only 52.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

*’The New Breed’ was also issued on Kent in 1967 but replacing ‘Love Me One More Time’ with a tune called ‘I Can’t Stand It’

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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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, March 4, 2014 6:53 pm

Nolan Porter

Listen/Download NF Porter – Keep On Keeping On

Greetings all

If you – like moi – spends an inordinate amount of time listening to, thinking about, researching and digging for music, it is easy to become jaded, or at least top have your senses dulled to a certain degree.

As a result, it’s easy to miss some of the subtler wonders out there, which is why you have to engage in periodic reappraisal.

That said, the other side of the coin is that the truly remarkable records cut through that fog in remarkable ways.

I first heard NF Porter’s ‘Keep On Keeping On’ years ago when it was included on a comp of favorites from the storied Golden Torch soul club in the UK.

That collecting included a lot of amazing records, but none stood out more starkly than ‘Keep on Keeping On’.

It’sone of those records that I have often found myself spinning repeatedly, letting the vibe sink in a little more deeply with each play.

Recorded in 1971 by Nolan Porter (billed at different times as Nolan, NF Porter, and Frederick II), the record made it into the R&B Top 40 at the end of 1971, Porter’s second such hit that year.

Porter came up in Southern California, getting his start as a classical singer, before meeting producer Gabriel Mekler’s sister while in college.

Mekler signed him to his Lizard label, where he would record the ‘No Apologies’ LP in 1971*.

Porter was backed in the studio by various and sundry members of the Mothers of Invention and Little Feat (Lowell George, Jimmy Carl Black and Roy Estrada) as well as Johnny Guitar Watson.

‘Keep On Keeping On’ – co-written by Porter and Richie Flowers but originally only credited to the latter – is a record of unique power.

Though Porter’s delivery is purely soulful, there is an underlying foundation of rock and even psychedelia to the song (dig the backward guitar) that imbues it with a certain darkness.

The ominous, propulsive rhythm guitar and the tom-toms create a thick, often thunderous platform from which Porter launches his high tenor into the stratosphere.

Its strong beat has made is a perennial favorite with the Northern Soul crowd, as is his (much rarer/more expensive/excellent) 1972 ABC single ‘If I Could Only Be Sure’ (a US R&B Top 30 hit).

Porter recently ended a long, self-imposed retirement to return to the stage in the US and the UK, and recent video demonstrates that he is still in fine voice.

I hope you dig this amazing record, and I’ll see you all on Friday

Keep the faith

Larry

*Porter would also compose ‘Funky LA’ for labelmates Paul Humphrey and the Cool Aid Chemists

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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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, February 18, 2014 12:30 pm

Jackie Wilson

Listen/Download Jackie Wilson – Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)

Greetings all

How about something a little sweet for the middle of the week?

Jackie Wilson is high on the list of major soul figures that I took for granted for far too long.

He was a consistent hitmaker, placing dozens of records in the charts between 1958 and 1975.

Though a fair amount of those hits crossed over into the pop charts, Wilson was (at least to my ears) damned by the tight programming of oldies radio. Until I started collecting soul 45s, if you’d asked me about Jackie Wilson, I would have known ‘Higher and Higher’ and ‘Lonely Teardrops’, and little else.

Fortunately, over the years I have kept up the search for new sounds, and more and more Jackie Wilson records have found their way into my crates.

The tune I bring you today represented a “comeback’ of sorts for Wilson, making his first trip into the R&B Top 10 since ‘Baby Workout’ in 1963.

Written by Barbara Acklin (then a secretary at Brunswick Records) and David Scott, ‘Whispers (Getting’ Louder)’ is a prime example of the classy sounds that producer Carl Davis was the master of in the 1960s.

It is a particularly interesting record (aside from its obvious quality) because it features both the Funk Brothers and the Andantes, making it a perfect intersection of (moonlighting) Detroit and Chicago sounds.

The arrangement is perfection, with guitar and vibes pushed along by comparatively raw sounding drums, all juxtaposed with sweeping strings and horns.

It is one of Wilson’s finest sides, and went into the R&B Top 5 (grazing the Pop Top 10) in October of 1966.

‘Whispers (Getting’ Louder)’ was covered by Erma Franklin in 1970 (with another Jackie Wilson cover, ‘(I Get the) Sweetest Feeling’ on the flipside).

It is a groovy record indeed, and I hope you dig it.

See you on Friday.

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.