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By Larry, April 21, 2019 8:02 am

Ronnie Milsap

Listen/Download – Ronnie Milsap – Ain’t No Soul Left In These Ole Shoes MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s selection is one of my favorite versions of one of my favorite songs (great how is works out that way, n’est ce pas?).

Ronnie Milsap was one of the biggest country stars of the 1970s and 1980s, but believe it or not he got his start as a soul singer.

Milsap, who was born almost completely blind, learned how to play the piano, and though he was supposed to go to law school, he left his academic pursuits behind for a career in music.

He was lucky enough to sign with Scepter records, and managed to score his first hit with the Ashford and Simpson tune ‘Never Had It So Good’ (backed with another of their songs ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’) in 1965.

His follow up was the first recording of Artie Resnick and Joey Levine’s ‘Ain’t No Soul (Left In These Old Shoes), which would go on to be something of a 1960s soul standard with recordings by Major Lance, the Corvairs, Kenny Bernard, and Tami Lynn among others.

Milsap’s version is among the rawest of them all, starting out with a fuzzy combo organ, prominent drums and a wailing vocal by Milsap. The arrangement by Tommy Kaye is fantastic, with a great horn chart and a hard-charging tempo that made the record a huge fave on Northern Soul dance floors in later years.

Milsap kept a bit of R&B flavor in his later successes, yet nothing as full on soulful as this.

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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, September 9, 2018 12:13 pm

Johnny Maestro (bottom center) with the Crests

Listen/Download – Johnny Maestro and the Crests – Come See Me (I’m Your Man) MP3

Greetings all.

The F16C Summer of Soul has come to a close – thanks to all who donated – , and we return to business as usual here ye olde blogge-space.

What better way to get restarted than with a certified mind-blower.

If you grew up in the New York area listening to oldies radio (especially WCBS-FM) the name Johnny Maestro should be a very familiar one. He was one of the most prominent surviving pioneers of the doowop era – the Crests ’16 Candles’ is one of the best remembered records of that era – and he would go on to sing lead for the Brooklyn Bridge, who had a huge hit in 1968 with ‘The Worst That Could Happen’.

However, sandwiched in between those two landmarks is one of the most (for me, anyway) surprising records.

In 1966, Maestro and the Crests recorded what would be the first-release US version (in August of 1966) of J.J. Jackson’s ‘Come See Me’, which would be released a few months earlier (April 1966) in the UK by the Pretty Things (Jackson’s version wouldn’t come out in the US until 1968).

As much as I love the Pretty Things version, the take by Maestro and the Crests is an absolute killer.

Arranged by JJ Jackson, this version opens with a one-two punch of bass and drums and takes off like a shot. There’s a great vocal by Maestro and the band, with some groovy rhythm guitar and organ just flies along.

I love to pull this record out and play it at soul nights because it combines a familiar song, in an unfamiliar version with a monster arrangement. It never fails to turn heads.

Sadly, it went nowhere at the time of its release, charting (and just barely) at one Albany, NY radio station.

The flip side, ‘I Care About You’ is a brilliant blue-eyed soul ballad with a remarkable performance by Maestro.

These days the 45 is quite expensive, so if you see it, grab it.

Until next week.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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, June 17, 2018 11:06 am

Funky16Corners Presents – Blue Eyed Soul Party

Wayne Cochran – Harlem Shuffle (Mercury)
Spirits of St Louis – Going Back To Miami (Philips)
Georgie Fame – See Saw (Imperial)
Brenda Lee – Dancing In the Street (Decca)
Jo Ann and Troy – Who Do You Love (Atlantic)
Groovers – I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor) (Groovy)
Roy Head – Just a Little Bit (Scepter)
Group Therapy – Really Together (RCA)
Dynatones – Rib Tips (HBR)
Magnificent Men – I Got News (Capitol)
Joey Heatherton – Hullabaloo (Coral)
Bob Kuban and the Inmen – The Cheater (Musicland USA)
Johnny Daye – What’ll I Do For Satisfaction (Stax)
Chitlins – Sugar Woman (Pala)
Skip Easterling – Ooh Poo Pah Do (Instant)
Rascals – Come On Up (Atlantic)
Ben Atkins and the Nomads – Love Is a Beautiful Thing (Goldwax)
Dusty Springfield – Go Ahead On (Philips)
Feathers – trying To Get To You (Team)
Billy Harner – Sally Sayin’ Somethin’ (Kama Sutra)
Flavor – Sally Had a Party (Columbia)
Revlons – Ya Ya (Parkway)
Little Caesar and the Empire – Everybody Dance Now (Parkway)
Cookie Jarr and the Krums – Cookie’s Bag (Roulette)
Countdown 5 – Shaka Shaka Na Na (Cobblestone)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners – Blue Eyed Soul Party – 147MB Mixed MP3

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Greetings all.

The Funky16Corners 2018 Allnighter/Pledge Drive aka The Summer of Soul 2 has begun!

We’re starting things off this year with a collection of some of my favorite blue-eyed soul records from a truy stellar (and sometimes surprising) line up of artists!

We will continue with a new mix every week for the duration of the summer, with a selection of stellar contributions from some of my (and your) favorite selectors including DJ Prestige, Ben Gibson, DJ Prime Mundo, DJ RP of Funkdefy, Vincent the Soul Chef, Chris Lujan of the M-Tet, DJ Bluewater, HeavySoulBrutha Dave B. and new contributor, DJ Scott Boyko (with possible DJs yet to be named!).

The pledging will continue this year with Patreon (click here or on the logo below to go to the Funky16Corners page) , where you will be able to spread your contributions out over the entire year, which will help cover the ongoing server/broadcast/hardware expenses. This year has seen the move to 100 percent live broadcasting (Mixlr.com/Funky16corners)  and continued hardware and software upgrades at Funky16Corners central, to keep the radio/podcasting experience as seamless and groovy as possible. So please dig deep so we can continue to do the same, and if you’re already a Patreon donor, please accept my heartfelt thanks!

In addition to all the broadcasts and the blogging all of the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg mix archives will continue.

I am also including a Paypal donation button (below) if you’d rather donate in a lump sum instead of the rolling donation in Patreon.

Don’t forget, my weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! is on the air live, every Wednesday night from 10-12. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. So tune in when you get a chance!
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So, download and dig the mix, keep digging the radio shows, and we’ll be back next week with another groovy mix.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg when you have a minute!. <

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By Larry, June 3, 2018 10:23 am

The Groovers

Listen/Download – The Groovers – Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s selection is an object lesson in how common band names and cover material can send you down all kinds of dark alleys.

I picked up the Groovers 45 you see before you a few years back on the strength of both sides being soul covers, even though I’d never heard of the band.

I recorded the 45, and into the box it went.

In the time since, I picked up another 45 by a group called the Groovers, but had no idea it was the same group.

The fact that some online resources contained conflicting (and incorrect, this is not the LA band that recorded for Minit and Teri De) information didn’t help matters.

This particular Groovers appears to have been another white showband on the Beach Music scene who recorded for the Fredericksburg, VA labels Groovy (a cover of Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers ‘I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor)’) and TCB (the Goffin/King number ‘I Need You’) and two 45s for A&M, all produced by Warren Harding Jr and at least a few of them arranged by none other than Fonce Mizell (?!?).

My educated guess is that these were done when the Mizell brothers were attending Howard University in DC.

The version of ‘I Gotta Go Now’ has a garagey edge to it, as does their take on Ain’t Too Proud To Beg’ (I haven’t heard their TCB single).

The Groovers take on William Bell’s ‘Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday’ is very groovy indeed. Featuring some subtle and soulful guitar, gospel-inflected organ, tastefully applied strings and great vocals.

‘Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday’ seems to have brought the group some success, having charted regionally early in 1970.

According to a Fredericksburg music site, the Groovers were together from the mid-50s until the mid-80s (and a few of the members seem to still be playing today).

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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, March 18, 2018 11:20 am

Listen/Download – Ronnie Rae and the Dynamics – Funky Shuffle MP3

Greetings all.

The 45 I bring you today started out as a mystery record.

A group that made only one single, on a label that only released one single, with no address on the label.

I cannot recall where I put my hands on Funky Shuffle by Ronnie Rae and the Dynamics, other than it came from a sales list (as opposed to a random dig in the field).

The record sounds like a white band with a soulful bent, with the flipside, ‘Breaktime’ leaning in a more garage-y direction.

‘Funky Shuffle’ quickly reveals itself to be a rewrite of ‘Harlem Shuffle’, with wild lead vocals, relentless combo organ, spooky background vocals and a solid drummer.

Though 45Cat suggests that this is a 1966 release (certainly not out of the question) I haven’t seen any other corroborating information to confirm that.

The single clue as to the origin of this record is the authorship of the flipside, attributed to Jules Kruspir.

Kruspir was a Pittsburgh, PA operator, managing the doowop group the Marcels, and running St Clair records, home to a wide variety of Western Pennsylvania acts including garage punk legends the Swamp Rats.

A Google search reveals a couple of local newspapers, in Pittsburgh and Morgantown from the late 60s with ads for performances by Ronnie Rae and the Dynamics (both, sadly hidden behind paywalls, so I was unable to see them in detail).

If anyone has any additional information on the band, please let me know.

Until next week

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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, February 25, 2018 12:58 pm

Listen/Download – Hal Driggers and the Key Brothers – Brown Baggin’ MP3

Listen/Download – Hal Driggers and the Key Brothers – Black Pepper MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you well.

The track I bring you today dropped into my crates a few years back, solely on the strength of the sounds packed into the grooves.

I had no idea who Hal Driggers was/is (still don’t). It’s not an expensive record, but – and this is the important part – it cooks.

A cursory listen will reveal that ‘Brown Baggin’ is a very spare rewrite of Robert Parker’s ‘Barefootin’, with the gist moving away from dancing and going all the way over to the surreptitious consumption of alcohol, hidden inside the brown bag of the title.

“Brown Baggin’ is a mover, taking the foundation of the Parker classic and running with it.

The flipside, ‘Black Pepper’ is a wild slice of R&B with some hot rhythm guitar and organ.

The context clues on the label, and a Google-i-zation reveal that the 45 was originally released on the North Carolina Cheeco label as by Hal Driggers and the Six Key Brothers (with the descriptor ‘six’ removed for the Atlantic pressing).

My seasoned ears suggest to me that Mr Driggers is a white fella, which is neither here nor there, though along with the geographical location it suggests to me that he might have been part and parcel of the many white R&B bands working in the south (and on the Beach Music scene) at the time.

I have not been able to track down any information on the Key Brothers, either.

Driggers and the Key Brothers did one more 45, for the Philadelphia-based Star Time label.

If any of you fine folks have any info on Driggers or the Key Brothers, please drop me a line.
Until next week.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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 12, 2017 1:02 pm

Billy Lee Riley

Listen/Download – Billy Lee Riley – Don’t Fight It MP3

Listen/Download – Billy Lee Riley – Mississippi Delta MP3

Greetings all.

If you already know the name of Billy Lee Riley, you very well might be surprised to see him here at Funky16Corners.

Along with his band the Little Green Men he waxed some smoking rockabilly sides for Sun Records in the mid-50s, including ‘Red Hot’ (later covered by Robert Gordon) and ‘Flying Saucers Rock and Roll’.

However, as the years went on, Mr Riley found his way to the R&B side of the street (though there is a case to be made that having worked in rockabilly he was already half the way there).

In 1962 he was the man behind the Megatons’ ‘Shimmy Shimmy Walk’, and as the decade moved on he recorded a wide variety of material, including a fair amount of soul covers.

Today’s selections hail from a 1967 45 for the Mojo label (Riley bounced around to Mercury, GNP Crescendo, Atlantic, HIP and then back to Sun by the end of the 60s) where he did a number of 45s and a couple of albums, including 1968’s hard to find ‘Southern Soul’.

Riley’s covers of Wilson Pickett and Bobbie Gentry are pure Memphis, with a tight, hard-hitting band and great vocals. There’s plenty of hot guitar (naturally) and some nice piano and backing vocals as well.

‘Mississippi Delta’ is especially groovy. Originally the flipside to Bobbie Gentry’s epic ‘Ode To Billie Joe’, it was – in its original version – smoking hot. Riley turns up the soulful heat just a little bit more and the horn chart and drums are excellent.

Riley’s 45s from this period aren’t too hard to find, but the albums might force you to pry open your wallet a little bit further.

I hope you dig the tracks and I’ll see you next week.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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, October 22, 2017 12:09 pm

Barry St John

Listen/Download – Barry St John – Cry Like a Baby MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s selection is yet another piece of evidence for why you should surround yourself with people with excellent taste and keep your ears wide open.

I first encountered Barry St John and her smoking version of ‘Cry Like a Baby’ when it rolled by in my Facebook news feed, the video having been posted in one of the groups I subscribe to.

The clip, from the Beat Club TV show had St John working the funky side of the street on the old Box Tops tune.

I set right out to find myself a copy of the 45 and in doing so discovered that St John had a couple of earlier 45s that were popular with the Northern Soul crowd.

St John, who was born in Scotland and had sung with R&B groups in the UK and Europe recorded ‘Cry Like a Baby’ in 1968, with production credited to Mike Pasternak aka hugely successful Pirate Radio DJ Emperor Rosko (who produced St John’s 1968 LP ‘According To St John’).

The arrangement featured St John’s powerful voice, backed with some punchy bass and drums and a horn section (dig that baritone sax) way up in the mix.

What I’ve heard of her album (which is nigh but impossible to lay hands on here in the US) is excellent.

St John went on to work as a studio backing singer, working on a ton of UK albums in the 70s including Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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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, September 3, 2017 11:14 am

Funky16Corners Soul Party A Go Go

Andre Williams – Soul Party A Go Go (Avin)
Bob Kuban Explosion – Jerkin’ Time (USA)
Kip Anderson – A Knife and a Fork (Checker)
Citations – Chicago (Mercury)
Eddie Bo – Shake Rock and Soul (Cinderella)
Oliver Sain – Jerk Loose (Checker)
Magnificent Malochi – Mama Your Daddy’s Come Home (Brunswick)
Larry Johnson – Mercy (Zorro)
Soupy Sales – Nitty Gritty (ABC/Paramount)
Alvin Cash and the Crawlers – The Barracuda (Mar V Lus)
Chuck Berry – Back To Memphis (Mercury)
Billy Preston – Hey Brother (Capitol)
Johnny Daye – I Need You (Stax)
Billy Graham and the Escalators – Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Atlantic)
The Foundations – Jerkin the Dog (Uni)
Howard Roberts – Florence of Arabia (Capitol)
Howard Tate – Stop (Verve)
Joe Simon – Come On and Get It (SS7)
Johnny Maestro and the Crests – Come See Me (Parkway)
Tender Joe Richardson – I Ain’t Going For That (Hot Biscuit)
Jackie Wilson – Hold On I’m Coming (Brunswick)
Ronnie Milsap – Ain’t No Soul (In These Old Shoes) (Scepter)
Objectives – Love Went Away (Jewel)
Fats Domino – If You Don’t Know What Love Is (ABC/Paramount)
Other Brothers – Hole In the Wall (Modern)
Russell Evans and the Nighthawks – Send Me Some Cornbread (Atco)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Soul Party A Go Go 117MB Mixed MP3

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Greetings all.

Welcome to Part Eleven of the Funky16Corners 2017 Allnighter/Pledge Drive aka The Summer of Soul!

This week we have the traditional closing mix of the festivities from your’s truly.

I got things started this year with a selection of Northern Soul, and I’m closing things out with a mix of dance floor movers, party starters, soul jazz and Hammond groovers.

The fundraising aspect of the 2017 Summer of Soul hasn’t been all that encouraging.

Whether it was the change in format, the switch to Patreon, or just a general lack of interest, I can’t really say, but if you were waiting for an appropriate time to toss something into the mix, now would be it.

So dig the sounds, and make sure to click on the Patreon button to help keep the lights on here at Funky16Corners! Fundraising up to this point has not been very encouraging, so please do what you can. It is as always greatly appreciated.

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The fundraiser will also take a slightly different form this year, moving to Patreon (click here or on the logo below to go to the Funky16Corners page) , where you will be able to spread your contributions out over the entire year (i.e. if you pledge 12 bucks, it doles it out a dollar a month over the course of a year), which will help cover the ongoing server/broadcast/hardware expenses. This year has seen the upgrade of a couple of crucial pieces of equipment, and any help you fine people can provide will keep the machinery moving here at Funky16Corners central.

So please dig deep so we can continue to do the same!

In addition to all the broadcasts and the blogging all of the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg mix archives will continue.

As I have mentioned recently, the changes to the general format here are as thus – The concentration of the operation will continue its shift to podcasting/radio, with the Funky16Corners Radio Show originating every week as a live broadcast, Thursday nights at 9PM Eastern on MIXLR, and will continue to be posted as a downloadable podcast every Friday, and broadcast in the UK on Cruising Radio.

The Iron Leg Radio Show will also move to a monthly live broadcast (day to be determined) also on MIXLR and will continue to be broadcast on Cruising Radio in the UK.

Don’t forget, my weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! is on the air live, every Wednesday night from 10-12. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. So tune in when you get a chance!
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So, download and dig the mix, keep digging the radio shows, and we’ll be back next week with another groovy mix.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg when you have a minute!. <

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By Larry, March 9, 2017 2:12 pm

Funky16Corners: Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

Bobbie Gentry – Okalona River Bottom Band (Capitol)
Billy Lee Riley – Mississippi Delta (Mojo)
Artie Christopher – Stoned Soul (Atlantic)
Cher – I Walk On Gilded Splinters (Atco)
Buzz Clifford – Hawg Frog (Dot)
Joe South – Motherless Children (Capitol)
Kin Vassy – Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham (UNI)
Lonnie Mack – Too Much Trouble (Elektra)
Nat Stuckey – Clean Up Your Own Backyard (RCA)
Roy Head – Don’t Want To Make It Too Funky (In the Beginning) (ABC/Dunhill)
Area Code 615 – Stone Fox Chase (Polydor)
John Randolph Marr – Sarah (WB)
Skip Easterling – Hoochie Coochie Man (Instant)
Tony Joe White – Whompt Out On You (Monument)
Kelly Gordon – If That Don’t Get It It Ain’t There (Capitol)
Charlie McCoy – Minor Miner (Monument)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners – F16C: Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here and I will take this opportunity to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show hits the airwaves of the interwebs each and every Friday with the best in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the Stitcher and TuneIn apps, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com

Also, my (roughly) monthly jawn at WFMU’s Rock’n’Soul Ichiban stream – Testify! –  commences this very Sunday morning, March 12th at 11AM, and if you dig the sounds you hear both here and over at Iron Leg, it would behoove you to tune in your internet radiola (just got to the WFMU page and click on the Ichiban Stream) and dig it.

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That all said, what you see before you is the result of one of a number of ongoing obsessions (and musical workaholism) that finally reached a tipping point this past week when I got my hands on a record I’d been wanting for a long time (and bookends the original Honky Style mix which is ten years old this year) .

That record – Buzz Clifford’s ‘Hawg Frog’ – is in many ways the ne plus ultra of swamp funk sides.

The mix gets its title from a song that’s kind of a cornerstone of the sound, written by Mac Davis and Delaney Bramlett and recorded by no less than three artists in the mix (though I only included my fave, by Kin Vassy).

Swamp funk, country funk, white Southern soul, call it what you want – and really, it deserves a bunch of different names because as a style it’s kind of diffuse, with a bunch of things, funk, rock, soul, country, blues, psychedelia and R&B all intersecting in a variety of ways – the only real common denominator (at least in this mix) being the caucasianosity of the perpetrators.

You get some of the bigger names associated with the stylistic miasma, like Tony Joe White, Joe South and Bobbie Gentry, some of the lesser known folks, like Kin Vassy, Billy Lee Riley and John Randolph Marr, background characters like Kelly Gordon, Nashville heads like Charlie McCoy, Area Code 615 and Nat Stuckey and even a couple of unexpected names like Cher, Lonnie Mack and Buzz Clifford.

It’s sometimes funky (with a couple of very tasty drum breaks), usually twangy, often soulful, and with the soul of a mud-caked cottonmouth snake hidden out in the wheel well of bus taking Highway 55 from Memphis to New Orleans.

So pull down the ones and zeroes, and dig it.

I’ll see you all on Monday.

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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, February 26, 2017 11:55 am

The LaSalles aka Kathy Lynn and the Playboys

Listen/Download – The LaSalles – La La La La La MP3

Greetings all.

Every once in a while you find yourself pulling on a loose thread, and it just keeps unravelling.

Back in the day, during the storied Asbury Park 45 Sessions, one of my compadres dropped the needle on a monstrous banger called ‘Kick-Back’ by a group I’d never heard of before called Willie Tell and the Overtures.

As was often the case, the 45 went right onto my want list, and I set out in search of a copy for my play box.

It took a while, but I finally scored a copy.

While I was searching, I stumbled on another 45 with the same A and B sides as the Willie Tell and the Overtures record, this time by the already familiar Buena Vistas (the exact same recordings, with an earlier release) .

So, down the rabbit hole I went, discovering a whole bunch of cool things in the process.

The Buena Vistas were connected to a pair of Upstate New York characters by the names of Carl Cisco and Tom Shannon, and a band by the name of Kathy Lynn and the Playboys.

The story – at least as I was able to pick it apart – was that Cisco, Shannon and the aforementioned band had varying degrees of involvement (from peripheral all the way down to not at all) with the Buena Vistas 45s, most of which were in fact the work of various and sundry Funk Brothers (I still haven’t figured out how the Buena Vistas 45 got rereleased as Willie Tell et al). Cisco/Shannon also had their hands in records by the Rockin’ Rebels, Revlons and other Western NY/Detroit acts).

That said, Kathy Lynn and the Playboys were a real, working group, and they are (as far as I can discern) the people behind the smoking version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘La La La La La’ that was released on the Motown subsidiary VIP as by the LaSalles in 1966.

Though originally written and recorded by Stevie, ‘La La La La La’ is best known by the hit version by the East LA group the Blendells from 1964.

As much as I love the Blendells version, the recording by the LaSalles (yet another alias) is amazing.

Kathy Lynn (nee Kathy Keppen, who would go on to marry Playboys/Buena Vistas/LaSalles guitarist Nick Ameno) opens the tune with the traditional spoken passage, then rips into it sounding like a crazed version of Brenda Lee.

The band lays into a heavy groove, with organ, drums, bass and soul clapping, making their version of the song perfect for the dance floor.

Lynn went on to record as Lynn Terry, and it appears that a modern version of Kathy Lynn and the Playboys was playing as recently as 2012.

I hope you dig the tune, 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, January 15, 2017 11:37 am

The Countdown Five

Listen/Download – Countdown Five – Shaka Shaka Na Na MP3

Greetings all.

The beginning of the week is here and I have something groovy for you.

Those of you that have followed the Funky16Corners blog for while, checked out my mixes, or heard me spin 45s in person, know that I have a taste for what might otherwise be termed ‘garage or bubblegum soul’ i.e. white rock bands laying down soulful party starters.

I started out collecting garage punk 45s way back in the day and most of those bands incorporated soul and R&B material into their playlists, covered those songs on record, and often came up with their own bangers.

Among my faves are tunes like ‘Shake’ by the Shadows of Knight, and ‘Sally Had a Party’ by Flavor (featured here a while back).

Not all that long ago my man Emery blew my mind with a tune that I had never heard by a group that I was already familiar with.

The band was Texas sixties punkers the Countdown Five, and the tune was ‘Shaka Shaka Na Na’.

The Countdown Five formed in Texas in the unlikely sounding Galveston suburb of Texas City, Texas.

They recorded a number of 45s during the 60s, including the oft-comped classic ‘Uncle Kirby’ (1967).

‘Shaka Shaka Na Na’ is a banger of the first order, sounding like a more soulful cousin of the Easybeats ‘Good Times’ (released the previous year), with fuzz guitar, organ (keyboardist Mack Hayes wrote the song) and a wailing sing-a-long chorus. It’s a great mix of fuzz, bubblegummy simplicity and soul, and a very groovy number indeed.

It was the band’s last 45, and though it wasn’t a hit, it got issued on no less than six countries!

The US issue is on the Buddah subsidiary Cobblestone, and isn’t too pricy or hard to find.

So grab yourself a copy, slip it into your playbox and dance!

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.