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Vic Waters and the Entertainers – I’m White – I’m Alright

Comments (3)

By Larry, May 16, 2013 11:05 am

Vic Waters (center, dig the spats) and the Entertainers

~~Listen/Download Vic Waters and the Entertainers – I’m White – I’m Alright~~

Greetings all

The end of the week approaches and so does the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which comes to you this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always catch up by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or by grabbing an MP3 out of the archive here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today first came to my attention when a couple of people started discussing it on an internet message board ( a pursuit that makes up a solid percentage of all internet content).

The record in question ‘I’m White – I’m Alright’ by Vic Waters and the Entertainers was seen by some (apparently people that didn’t actually listen to the record) as a misguided, racist rant. The other folks, the ones that took the time to get past the title, and with a little bit of perspective under their belt, recognized the tune as an “answer” record of sorts (to JB’s ‘Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud’).

Vic Waters and the Entertainers were a white showband that were pretty big stuff in Tampa Bay, FL during the 60s.

They recorded three 45s with Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham behind the boards, one (a nice cover of the Eddie Floyd composition ‘Taking Inventory’, also recorded by the Ferris Wheel and Danny White) on Capitol proper, and then two more (one of which you see before you today) on Capitol’s Crazy Horse subsidiary.

The Entertainers were not unlike the countless white R&B/soul bands that populated the night clubs, frat houses and various and sundry other dance floors of the American south during the 60s, like the Tempests, the Rubber Band, Bill Deal and the Rhondels and many others.

‘I’m White – I’m Alright’ is indeed funky, and can be best described as “the white brothers can get down too”, which they can and do.

It’s worth the ride to hear Vic deliver lines like :

“I’m light, white and out of sight. I ain’t tan but I can jam.”

Surely, some of this stuff – 45 years on – sounds culturally tone-deaf, but it appears that Vic and the Entertainers had their hearts in the right place.

Would it have been better if he’d said “I’m pale but I can wail” or ‘I may be pink but I’m funkier than you’d think’?

Of course not.

I hope you dig the tune, and have yourselves a great weekend.

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).

Blue Eyed Soul, Equal Opportunity Soul, Funk, Funk 45, Funky16Corners, Soul, Soul 45 | Funk, Funky16Corners, Soul, Southern Funk

The Magnificent Men – Peace of Mind / Just Walk In My Shoes

Comments (5)

By Larry, March 3, 2013 11:51 am

The Magnificent Men

~~Listen/Download The Magnificent Men – Peace of Mind~~

~~Listen/Download The Magnificent Men – Just Walk In My Shoes~~

Greetings all

The tracks I bring you today are a perfect example of how you can hear about a group, circle them warily for years – suspecting lameness – and then finally giving in and discovering how wrong you really were.

I do not recall when I first heard of the Magnificent Men, but I suspect that I saw one of their albums while digging in the NJ/PA area, where their vinyl is plentiful.

Back in the day, what I saw was a bunch of straight-looking white dudes recording soul music, something which set off my (poorly calibrated) bullshit detector, and in the absence of a portable turntable, remained dollar-bin flotsam and jetsam.

Then – as these things often go – a few years back someone whose taste I trust posted a track by the group, and my large ears finally unfurled to the goodness of the Magnificent Men.

Had I dug a little bit, I would have realized that the Magnificent Men, formed as the Del-Chords, hailed from the unlikely soul music hotbed of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (the Emperors, Intentions, the Soulville label).

Led by vocalist Dave Bupp, the Magnificent Men were a lot more than your run of the mill “R&B-influenced” white band of which there were so many at the time.

They were first and foremost self-contained, i.e. vocalists/musicians capable of writing and performing their own (excellent) material.

They played many of the best known black venues of the day (including the Uptown in Philly and the Apollo in NYC).

Between 1966 and 1970 (by which time their sound had changed considerably) the Magnificent Men recorded three albums for Capitol and one for Mercury.

The first two, ‘The Magnificent Men’ and ‘The Magnificent Men: Live’ are the ones to look out for.

The tracks I bring you today come from that first, self-titled LP.

The first track, the original ‘Peace of Mind’ is one of the great blue-eyed soul tracks of the 60s, a great harmony showcase for the group.

Dave Bupp has said that ‘Peace of Mind’ was written with Walter Jackson in mind. Considering how evocative the record is of the Carl Davis/Okeh sound, this makes a tremendous amount of sense.

Though ‘Peace of Mind’ wasn’t a hit, its high quality is testified to by the number of cover versions of the tune. There are versions by Skip Jackson (on Capitol), Jerry Butler (Mercury), The Players (Minit), and the Royal Five (Arctic) – all of which can be heard on Youtube.

The second song – ‘Just Walk In My Shoes’ – was a recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1966 and is rightly hailed as a classic of dance floor soul.

Written by sisters Kay and Helen Lewis – two jazz/pop singers who also wrote tunes for Marvin Gaye, the Miracles and Edwin Starr, as well as recording a pair of their own 45s for the VIP label – ‘Just Walk In My Shoes’ is delivered with a lot of verve by the Magnificent Men, and I think it stands up well next to the original.

Oddly enough, as well-remembered as the Magnificent Men are (especially amongst soul fans), they seem to have made their mark mostly as a live act. Their chart impact was minimal, and almost exclusively in the mid-Atlantic region. They never hit the R&B charts (at least nationally).

They had the good fortune to have had their album arranged/conducted by Horace Ott and Sonny Sanders, and I think their music holds up remarkably well.

All of the Magnificent Men albums can be picked up on iTunes, and – if you’re digging in the Northeast, anyway, most of their vinyl is fairly easy to come by.

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

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).

Blue Eyed Soul, Chicago Soul, Cover Songs, Digging, Equal Opportunity Soul, Funky16Corners, LP tracks, Northern Soul, Soul | Blue Eyed Soul, Funky16Corners, Northern Soul, Soul

The Shangri-Las – Right Now and Not Later

By Larry, February 7, 2013 1:00 pm

Cat suits and Go-Go boots! The mighty Shangri-Las! (Mary Weiss at right)

~~Listen/Download The Shangri-Las – Right Now and Not Later~~

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, and so it’s time for the Funky16Corners Radio Show. Coming to you every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, the Funky16Corners Radio “thang” brings with it the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on vinyl. If you are unable to join me at airtime, you can always keep up by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or you can come here to the blog and pick yourself up an MP3 in the archive.

The record I bring to you today might at first glance (with the eyes, see…) seem an unusual selection for Funky16Corners, but once you let the music flow, and bring your ears into the equation I think your doubts will be assuaged.

I think it was a friend’s Facebook post of a Shangri-Las appearance on the old LA dance party show Shivaree that first turned me on to this amazing record.

Not ever having been a fan or collector of ‘girl group’ sounds (something I’ve been working to remedy these last few years) – excepting where they intersect with the sounds of soul – I don’t recall what made me click on the video, but it wasn’t long before I was glad that I did.

The Shangri-Las had a string of hits starting with ‘Leader of the Pack’ in 1964 that epitomized a heavy, East Coast alternative to the kinds of records Phil Spector was crafting in the West.

Guided by writers and producers like George ‘Shadow’ Morton and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the Shangri-Las – composed of various and sundry combinations of two sets of sisters from Queens, NY, Mary and Betty Weiss and Marge and Mary Anne Ganser – the Shangri-Las made some of the most undeniably powerful (and successful) records of the era.

Singles like ‘Remember (Walkin’ In the Sand)’ and ‘Give Him a Great Big Kiss’ and ‘Out In the Streets’ had a big (BIG) sound, often comparable to a group like the Ronettes but with a rougher, tougher edge to it.

I won’t belabor the point, but I would suggest that if you dig 60s pop and haven’t yet gotten hip to the Shangri-Las, you should pick up the nearest ‘Best Of’, slap on some headphones (or find an AM radio) and turn it up.

Of course, if the story was strictly 60s pop, you’d be reading this over at Iron Leg.

We’re here to talk about the time the Shangri-Las got some soul.

Now, when I clicked on the YouTube link – and got past the rush I always get when I see what a party Shivaree was – I realized I was hearing something unexpected.

That song was ‘Right Now and Not Later’. As is often the case with a record like this, the second thing I thought (after “where can I get myself a copy”) was “How groovy would it be to spin this at a soul night?”

When I finally got the copy you see before you – which took a surprisingly long time – and had a chance to scan the label, most (if not all) of my questions were answered.

Where I expected to see the names Shadow Morton or Barry/Greenwich, instead I saw another very familiar name, Robert Bateman.

Bateman was best known to me as one of Lou Courtney’s frequent writing/producing partners, as well as a journeyman soul songwriter who had co-written tunes like ‘Please Mr Postman’ for the Marvelettes, ‘If You Need Me’ for Solomon Burke, ‘Soul Is Taking Over’ for Henry Lumpkin** and ‘Mama’s Got a Bag of Her Own’ for Anna King.

‘Right Now and Not Later’ was written by Bateman, Ronald Mosely and Kenny Hollon and produced by Bateman and Mosely and is a fairly stark departure for the Shangri-Las.

Though the group had R&B flowing through much of their catalog and had covered tunes like the Chantels ‘Maybe’, the Isley Brothers ‘Shout’ and the Ikettes ‘I’m Blue’, ‘Right Now and Not Later’ is an unmistakable attempt to recreate the Motown sound (something Bateman and Mosely were very familiar with).

The arrangement – by Bateman – sounds straight outta Detroit, from the opening tom toms, to the vibes, the baritone sax and the soaring chorus to the backing vocals.

I haven’t been able to track down any firm info as to why Bateman and Mosely were brought in to work on the track (they did work with other Red Bird acts like the Bouquets), and my assumption is that the label was basically trying something different (though the flip was a Barry/Greenwich tune ‘Train From Kansas City’, produced by Morton and Barry).

While there wasn’t a tremendous amount of time between their previous and subsequent hits, in the mid-60s Top 40 world, forward momentum was everything and label owners and producers were throwing everything they could at the charts to see what would stick.

The real tragedy in this situation is that ‘Right Now Or Not Later’ was not a success. While it got some traction in the Northeast (it reached #99 in the Hot 100) it faded quickly.

The song and arrangement were a perfect vehicle for Mary Weiss’s rich, powerful voice and as imitation-Motown goes, it doesn’t get much better than this.

The Shangri-Las’ short history ended when the group broke up in 1968.

Tragically, Mary Ann Ganser died at the age of 22 in 1970, followed by her sister Marge in 1996.

Fortunately Mary Weiss has returned to recording (for the mighty Norton label) and performing.

I hope you dig this record as much as I do, and I’ll see you all soon.

Keep the faith

Larry

*It’s fortunate that the Shangri-Las’ peak success intersected with the era of the great televised dance party shows. There are clips of them performing on a number of shows including Shivaree, Shindig, and a pre-catsuit era shot on I’ve Got a Secret, with Robert Goulet standing in for the ‘Leader of the Pack’

**the flip of the Lumpkin 45 was another Bateman/Mosely/Hollon tune ‘If I Could Make Magic’
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

Blue Eyed Soul, Funky16Corners, Soul, Soul 45 | Funky16Corners, Soul

Frankie Valli – (You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself

Comments (0)

By Larry, February 5, 2013 3:23 pm

Franki Valli being held aloft by the Four Seasons (and himself, oddly enough)

~~Listen/Download Frankie Valli – (You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself~~

Greetings all

If you were surprised when you showed up at Funky16Corners and saw Frankie Valli’s mug staring back at you, you really oughtn’t to have, since he popped up here with the Four Seasons and the mighty ‘Beggin’ a few years back.

The tune I bring you today is for a variety of reasons a big favorite of mine, but mainly because it was hiding in my crates for years before I discovered it.

Way, waayyy back, many a year ago, I picked up the 45 containing this gem because I had been informed that it had an organ instrumental on it called ‘Night Hawk’, credited to the Valli Boys.

As organ instrumentals go, it was kind of uninspiring (groovy, but light years outside of the ‘hammond burner’ belt), which is why it went into the crates and gathered dust for a few years.

So, as I entered one of those stretches where outside record digging is precluded due to lack of funds or free time, I pulled out a bunch of record boxes and started doing a little bit of internal re-digging, i.e. looking for things unjustly ignored the first time around, a method by which many, many interesting records have made their way onto the blog.

I pulled out a stack of 45s, went through them, and managed to harvest a grip of excellent stuff, including some instrumentals, ballads, and a couple of stellar examples of Northern Soul, of which today’s selection was one.

‘(You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself’ was released in 1966, and eventually included on the LP “The Four Seasons Present Frankie Valli Solo” which compiled many of his previous solo 45s (including the original version of ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’) as well as new material like the huge hit ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You’.

Ironically, ‘(You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself’ isn’t even considered the big Northern Soul cut off of that album, that honor being reserved for ‘You’re Ready Now’ which is at #96 in Kev Roberts’ ‘Northern Soul Top 500’ and actually charted in the UK in 1970 due to its popularity on the dance floors over there.

It is my humble opinion that ‘(You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself’ is the superior record.

Written by Bob Crewe and Charlie Calello, ‘(You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself’ features plenty of hooks, a stylish arrangement (listen closely for the electric piano bubbling under everything) and a great beat for the dance floor.

Valli’s vocal is excellent, staying away from his famous falsetto and settling into a style no doubt engineered to separate his solo work from the Four Season’s records.

I whipped this one on the folks at Subway Soul a few years back, and it was met with great pleasure by the dancers there.

It’s a great record and as our friends on the other side of the Atlantic say, ought to be cheap as chips.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Friday.

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).

Blue Eyed Soul, Digging, Funky16Corners, New Jersey In the House, Northern Soul, Soul, Soul 45 | Funky16Corners, Northern Soul

Ace Cannon – Drunk

By Larry, February 3, 2013 1:56 pm

Ace Cannon and his sax-o-ma-phone

~~Listen/Download Ace Cannon – Drunk~~

Greetings all

Welcome to another week here at the Corners.

I do not recall where I first heard today’s selection, but I do remember my surprise when I heard it.

The name Ace Cannon was already a very familiar one.

Cannon had a string of saxophone instrumental hits beginning in 1961 with ‘Tuff’ (#3 R&B #17 Pop) and continuing through the 60s and 70s. he recorded more than three dozen singles and several albums for the Hi label.

Though his best known numbers were in a blues/R&B vein, he recorded a wide variety of pop material through his career, but as far as I can tell, nothing else like ‘Drunk’.

Released as a single in 1971 (it also appeared on the ‘Blowing Wild’ LP that same year) ‘Drunk’ is an outlier in the Cannon oeuvre.

I would not hesitate for a second to classify ‘Drunk’ as funk, with the drums, bass, the chanky guitar and the organ, and of course Ace, “singing” the song and chanting the title over and over again.

A cover (and radical reworking) of Jimmy Liggins 1953 jump blues tune, ‘Drunk’ is the kind of record that ought to be better known, not only as an anomaly in the catalog of an otherwise well known performer, but also as a solid funk outing.

I have no idea who’s backing Ace on this one, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some of the Hodges brothers were in the house.

That said, as far as I can tell, ‘Drunk’ made no impact whatsoever (I can’t find any evidence of Cannon charting after the mid-60s).

I hope you dig the tune, and maybe find one for your own record box.

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).

Blue Eyed Soul, Cover Songs, Funk, Funk 45, Funky16Corners, Memphis, Soul | Funk, Funky16Corners, Memphis

Bill Deal and the Rhondels – Tuck’s Theme

By Larry, January 10, 2013 12:05 pm

Bill Deal and the Rhondels

~~Listen/Download Bill Deal and the Rhondels – Tuck’s Theme~~

Greetings all

I hope that the end of another week finds you well.

As Friday is upon us, I should remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to 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 an MP3 here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today has been languishing in my crates for a long ass time, mainly because of a bad case of lost-in-the-shuffle-it is.

I picked up my 45 of Bill Deal and the Rhondels ‘Tuck’s Theme’ years ago and for no good reason at all, forgot all about it.

I say for no good reason because once you hear ‘Tuck’s Theme’ you will – as would any sane person – realize that it is a superb bit of funk with a big, fat, swaggering drum break.

The name Bill Deal may be a familiar one, especially if you have access to oldies radio here on the East Coast, the further south the better.

Deal was a keyboardist and bandleader out of the Tidewater area of Virginia who – along with the Rhondels – hit the charts a number of times in the late 60s with their rollicking brand of brass-inflected, blue-eyed soul (covering cuts by artists like Maurice Williams and the Tams).

The band recorded half a dozen 45s (and an LP) for the Heritage label (also home to the Show Stoppers), of which ‘Swingin’ Tight’ b/w ‘Tuck’s Theme’ (released in 1969) was the fourth, it’s A-side grazing the Top 40 in a number of regional markets.

The cut features Deal working it out on some kind of clavinet-like electric keyboard, backed by the brass section, with a fuzzed out guitar eventually chiming in.

Things really get cracking when drummer Ammon Tharp lays down that big, swinging break.

It’s really is a killer, one of those that’ll have your head nodding as you get into the groove.

The record has ben sampled a few times, by groups like Jurassic 5 and People Under the Stairs.

Bill Deal and the Rhondels became an institution on the Beach Music scene, carrying on in one form or another until Deal’s passing in 2003 (though a version of the group, billed as Bill Deal’s Band still tours today).

I hope you dig the cut, 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).

Blue Eyed Soul, Drums, Funk, Funk 45, Funky16Corners, Soul | Funk, Funky16Corners, Soul

Chris Farlowe – We’re Doing Fine

By Larry, October 25, 2012 12:14 pm

Chris Farlowe

~~Listen/Download Chris Farlowe – We’re Doing Fine~~

Greetings all

The end of another week has finally arrived, and I have some very groovy mod soul lined up for you today.

But first, I simply must remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. As always, if you are unable to join us at the time of broadcast, you can pick up the shows by subscribing as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 download right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a very recent acquisition, that came as a very nice surprise.

I have known (some of) the music of Chris Farlowe since back in the mod/garage days of yore (three decades past).

The biggie – the one that got this album released here in the States – was his 1966 cover of the Rolling Stones ‘Out of Time’. Farlowe’s version was – at least in my opinion – far superior to the original, and, thanks to the fact that a lot of folks in the UK agreed, it was a Number One hit in that country in June of 1966.

Along with his band the Thunderbirds (which when he recorded ‘Paint It Farlowe’ included both Albert Lee and Carl Palmer) Farlowe started out recording blues, R&B and soul in the early 60s as part of the Mod scene.

Farlowe would eventually be signed to the Immediate label, where he would record at least two albums and a grip of singles, a half dozen of which would hit the UK charts in 1966 and 1967.

The ‘Paint It Farlowe’ LP – released in the UK, with additional tracks as ‘The Art of Chris Farlowe’ – was produced by no less a light than Mick Jagger.

The album was packed with interesting material, including a number of covers of Rolling Stones, Small Faces and Twice as Much tunes, as well as some very cool soul material.

Farlowe had an unusual voice, especially in the far reaches of his range, which was perfectly suited for rough edged R&B material.

‘Paint It Farlowe’ includes his versions of tunes by American artists like the Four Tops, Jimmy Ruffin, Garnet Mimms and with the tune I bring you today, Dee Dee Warwick.

The younger sister of Dionne, Dee Dee had a respectable chart career between 1965 and 1971, for labels like Blue Rock, Mercury and Atco.

‘We’re Doing Fine’, written and arranged by Horace Ott, was her first hit, making it into the R&B Top 30 (and the Pop Top 100) in August of 1965.

Farlowe would record his version of the song a year later, and acquits himself quite nicely indeed.

He takes a slightly more aggressive tack with the tune – almost to a Northern-style tempo – and the end result is up there with the finest covers of US soul material by white UK singers.

Farlowe would go on to sing lead with both Colisseum and Atomic Rooster during the 70s, and is still in fine voice today.

I hope you dig the tune, 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

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).

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

Blue Eyed Soul, Cover Songs, Equal Opportunity Soul, Funky16Corners, LP tracks, Mod Soul, Soul | Funky16Corners, Soul

Grootna – I’m Funky

Comments (3)

By Larry, September 13, 2012 11:47 am

Grootna, juxtaposed with the jacket of their sole LP

~~Listen/Download Grootna – I’m Funky~~

Greetings all

The end of the week is upon us, and so I thought I would whip something a little different on you all.

But first a message from our sponsor….that being a reminder that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves of the interwebs this Friday evening at 9PM on Viva Radio. As always, we endeavor to bring you the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from vinyl. If you cannot join me at the time of broadcast, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in the iTunes store, or fall by this very blog to grab an MP3.

That said, it was a while back, whilst out a-digging, that I happened upon a 45 by a group that while jammed securely in my consciousness since childhood, I had never heard before.

That band, Grootna was familiar to me via their many appearances on psychedelic-era San Francisco concert posters, so much so that (thanks to the hypnotic power of one particular poster) it is almost impossible for me to think of their name without also appending that of another down-bill band – Stoneground – to it.

The 45 I found – ‘Full Time Woman’ – was the very first actual Grootna record I had ever seen in person, and while interesting, is not in any way Funky16Corners material.

That said, all roads lead to Rome (or at least to funk).

While I was a-Google-ating in search of Grootna info, I happened upon a Harmless collection entitled ‘Kaleidoscopic Funk’, in which the compilers brought together a wide range of funky rock, trippy funk and all points in between by artists like Sly and the Family Stone, Rotary Connection, Ruth Copeland, Larry Williams and Johnny Guitar Watson, and – as it turns out – Grootna.

I had never heard the song ‘I’m Funky’, so I Youtubed it, dug it a lot, and set out in search of my own copy.

As it turns out, the album on which the song appeared (self-titled, natch) which was produced by none other than Marty Balin (of the Jefferson Airplane/Starship/Roachclip) is fairly hard to come by and expensive, so I dug a little but more and found a vinyl copy of the song in a much more economical package.

This is the part of the post where we take a little detour and extoll the virtues of ‘loss leader” records.

Though I figure a lot of you are too young to remember, back in the olden days, when I was a kid, you would often open up a major label album and the inner sleeve would contain an ad (or two) for what were known as “loss leaders” i.e. cheap compilations intended to draw the consumer in to the deep recesses of a label’s catalog. They would do this by including a couple of familiar tracks by the bigger names on the roster, maybe an interesting rarity or two, and then a huge heap of stuff by new artists, back-benchers and old timers hanging on for dear life.

The hope was, that you would get this home (they were often very inexpensive considering that they were two or three album sets) dig something unfamiliar and then rush out and buy something by one or more of the artists at full price.

While I don’t recall actually buying any of these comps back in the day, I have spent the last 20 years picking them up wherever I see them because in addition to all of the crud, they often contain hidden gems.

‘The Music People’ is one such collection, which – as it turns out – also contains the song I bring you today, ‘I’m Funky’.

A fantastic example of stoned out, tie-dyed, hippie funk, ‘I’m Funky’ is especially groovy, with the flanged guitar, piano, drums and (slightly fuzzed out) bass and a fine vocal by Anna Rizzo.

Grootna released their sole album in 1971 and broke up a year later.

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

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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

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).

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

Blue Eyed Soul, Equal Opportunity Soul, Funk, Funk Rock, Funky16Corners, LP tracks | Funk, Funky16Corners

The Intentions – Don’t Forget That I Love You

By Larry, September 9, 2012 2:06 pm

~~Listen/Download The Intentions – Don’t Forget That I Love You~~

Greetings all

The record I bring you today has been chilling in my crates for a long, long time.

This is for a variety of reasons, the first of which being that when I bought it all those many years ago, it was for the organ instro on the flip side.

Back in the day, I used to see a record dealer named Dennis at all of the bigger record shows. I met him through my buddy Haim, and bought many records from him both in person and on eBay.

At some point, Haim informed me that Dennis had recorded a 45 in the 60s with a group called the Intentions, which happened to have an organ instrumental on it. I was in the depths of my organ 45 mania, so I sought it ought, found it cheap and grabbed myself a copy.

I gave it a listen, recorded it onto a mix CD, and that – as they say – was that.

I mentioned the instrumental to Dennis at some point and I remember him making a sour face and dismissing it.

Years later, Dennis put up a web site (now defunct) with a page devoted to the Intentions, and the other (much more interesting and important) side of that particular record, and my mind was blown.

I don’t recall if I flipped the 45 over and played ‘Don’t Forget That I Love You’ when I bought it, but I suspect that if I did I probably wouldn’t have been into it.

Back then my taste in soul 45s was restricted to gritty, floor-pounding ravers, and the very idea of sweet soul (with falsettos no less) was not anywhere near my wheelhouse.

Now, fifteen some years down the line, my tastes have matured considerably, and I often find myself lost inside of soul harmony 45s.

What I discovered when I finally dug into ‘Don’t Forget That I Love You’ was a superbly performed and recorded soul record.

This has a lot to do with not only the voices of the Intentions, but also the fact that the record was recorded in Philadelphia under the aegis of the House of Harthon (arranged by the mighty Luther Randolph), and written by none other that Jesse James!

I do not recall how the Intentions found their way to Philly from the Harrisburg area (though that trip had already been made by the Emperors), but that area of the state had a rich soul tradition (with the Magnificent Men and the Soulville label).

The Intentions recorded that one 45, and once again, that, was that.

Fortunately when the folks in charge of the Harthon catalog re-did the ‘Groovin’ at the Go Go’ comp for the digital age, they expanded the track list, and ‘Don’t Forget That I Love You’, as fine an example of that label’s sound as any, is now part of the package. You can get it in MP3 form via iTunes, or on CD at Dusty Groove).

I hope you dig the cut, 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

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).

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

Blue Eyed Soul, Equal Opportunity Soul, Funky16Corners, Soul, Soul 45 | Funky16Corners, Soul

The Pieces of Eight – Come Back Girl

By Larry, July 8, 2012 12:42 pm

The Pieces of Eight

~~Listen/Download The Pieces of Eight – Come Back Girl~~

Greetings all.

Welcome to another hot, sweaty summer week at Funky16Corners.

The song I bringh you today was one of those happy discoveries that come upon you when you take the time to flip over a 45.

Many years ago, someone (I forget who now) hepped me to a groovy version of the Jimmy Smith instro ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf’ by a group called the Pieces of Eight.

Though I was led to believe that this was a white, southern band (much like the Bad Boys), I knew little else about them.

A few years after that, while out in the field digging I happened upon another Pieces of Eight 45 (TNT) and grabbed it.

That 45 sat in a box of records for a few more years, until one day, while engaged in one of my periodic re-digging sessions – in which I sift through my own crates in search of things I missed the first time around – that I was lucky enough to drop the needle on the tune you see before you today, ‘Come Back Girl’.

As fine a piece of equal opportunity soul as I have ever heard (it even grabbed the ears of the mighty Mr Finewine when I spun it one night at Botanica in NYC) ‘Come Back Girl’ is another window into the wonders of the ‘Beach Music’ scene.

Though I have only skirted its frontiers while digging for information, the Beach Music scene, based mainly out of the Southeast (Carolinas and Georgia) has, like Northern Soul in the UK, a largely white fan base.

Unlike Northern Soul, Beach Music had, and still has a tradition of homegrown show bands that toured (and recorded) all over the South, many of them also, largely white.

That said, the scene is built on R&B and soul, much of that, recorded and performed by black artists, many of whom were backed by the white bands as they toured in the South.

The Pieces of Eight were formed in the mid-sixties when two members of the Swinging Medallions split off on their own and joined up with a band called the Tassels. The new band had a hit in several national markets with the tune ‘The Lonely Drifter’ (also recorded by the O’Jays) and released a few 45s on regional labels that were later picked up by A&M and Mala for national distribution.

Written by the group’s guitarist Carlie Barbour, ‘Come Back Girl’ is a perfect example of the kind of shuffle so common on Beach Music dance floors, combined with an uptempo, sweet soul feel.

Though it gets said over and over again about countless, obscure records, ‘Come Back Girl’ really should have been a hit.

Unfortunately, outside of a few regional Top 40 appearances toward the end of the summer of 1967 in Alabama and North Carolina, the record didn’t make a dent.

That’s too bad, because it’s a killer.

As Pieces of Eight 45s go, it’s not the most expensive, but seems to run north of $25 or $30 bucks when it turns up.

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

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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

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).

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

Blue Eyed Soul, Equal Opportunity Soul, Funky16Corners, Soul, Soul 45 | Funky16Corners, Soul

Len Barry – I Struck It Rich

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By Larry, June 28, 2012 3:00 pm

Len Barry

~~Listen/Download Len Barry – I Struck It Rich~~

Greetings all.

The end of another week is here, and so is your weekly dose of soul in the form of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We take to the airwaves of the interwebs this – and every – Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at the time of broadcast you can always fall by the blog and grab the show (or any of the previous 100+ episodes) in MP3 form.

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Also, in other news, my man Eilon Paz, photographer and founder of the Dust and Grooves site is having a show of his vinyl portraiture (he featured yours truly back in the day) at the Tropicalia In Furs store, with an opening event Friday night July 6th from 7-10PM.

There will be photos from his various D&G features, as well as vinyl (natch) DJ sets by my man DJ Prestige and the mighty Supreme La Rock.

You might even see a picture of me!

If time and life allows I’m going to try to make it out to this one. I hope to see you there!

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The tune I bring you today is an old favorite of mine.

Len Barry is a name that should be familiar to soul fans, especially with a focus on the sounds of Philadelphia.

Barry – nee Leonard Borisoff – got his first taste of chart success as a member of the Dovells.

He first hit big in 1965 with the brilliant ‘1-2-3’ in the summer of 1965, which almost hit #1 Pop and grazed the R&B Top 10.

When I describe that record as ‘brilliant’ I’m not kidding. It was written by Barry with John Madara and David White (both Philly mainstays) and sports a stunning arrangement by Jimmy Wisner.

Barry is one of a number of soulful white singers from the Philly/Baltimore axis, including Billy Harner (more on him in a moment), Daryl Hall (then in the Temptones), and Bob Brady (of the Conchords).

Barry’s Decca sides from 1965 and 1966 are excellent and worth seeking out (including his improbably cool version of ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story).

The number I bring you today charted regionally in the Northeast in the summer of 1966 (almost exactly a year after ‘1-2-3’).

The first time I heard ‘I Struck It Rich’ it was via the version by the aforementioned Billy Harner.

Harner, a Philly-area native (south Jersey actually) recorded a grip of fantastic records in the 60s for a variety of local and nationally distributed labels. His version of ‘I Struck It Rich’ takes a slightly rougher tack that Barry’s, and a for a while it was my favored version of the two.

However, as the years went on, and I got deeper into the stylish sounds of Northern Soul, Len Barry’s improved greatly in my eyes (and ears, of course).

Co-written by Barry with the mighty Gamble and Huff (and arranged again, by Wisner) ‘I Struck It Rich’ is up there with the best of Philly soul.

As a vocalist, Barry is much closer to the Smokey Robinson mold (not as close as Bob Brady…) than Harner, a rougher singer with a deeper register.

That all said, I’d be happy spinning either version for dancers.

I hope you dig the tune 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

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).

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press