Willie Tee- Gatur Bait (Gatur)
Eula Cooper- Shake Daddy Shake (Atlantic)
The Vibrettes – The Humpty Dump (Lujon)
Soul Tornados- Hot Pants Breakdown (Magic City)
Leon Haywood- Skate Awhile (Fat Fish)
Bobby Williams – Funky SuperFly ( Duplex) Original Pressing
Eddie Jacobs- Pull My Coat (Columbia)
Bernard Drake- The Natural Thing (Louisiane)
Charles Mintz –Give a Man Break (Abbott)
Gloria Walker & The Chevelles – You Hit The Spot (Flaming Arrow)
Danny DeLaney- Stop & Think (Seeda)
Richard Marks – Funky Four Corners (Roulette) French Import
Rocker Roberts – T- Bird Stomp ( Roulette)
Soul Setters – Out O Sight (Onacrest)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling Pt. 1 (Fairmount)
Justin ‘Rambo’ Salinas
Sunny and the Sunliners-Talk That Trash (Key-Loc)
Rocky Gil and the Bishops- Soul Party (Teardrop)
Sunny and the Sunliners-If I could See You Now (Key-Loc)
The Majestics- I Love Her So Much It Hurts (Linda)
Dimas and The Royal Jesters-So Funny (Clown)
The Royal Jesters- Use Your Head (Jester)
Thee Midnighters – Whittier Blvd. (Whittier)
Sunny and the Sunliners-Somethings Gotta Hold on Me (Teardrop)
The Eptones-A Love That’s Real (Jox)
The Commands-Hey Its Love (Dynamic)
Thee Midnighters- Chicano Power (La Raza)
Sunny and the Sunliners- Saving My Love (Key-Loc)
I have returned from DC laden with vinyl and tired as a mofo.
I’m this close to a full restoration of energy and enthusiasm, but I’m gonna rest a little bit more while you all get down.
Of what do I speak?
Well, I have a very special treat for you all to get your week started.
A little while back my man Tarik Thornton let me know that he was going to be spinning a set in New Orleans at the Ponderosa Stomp pre-party known as the Hip Drop. Naturally I asked him if he’d be recording it, so that I might place it up here on the blog for the delectation of the reader/listener-ship.
Naturally he gave me the okeydoke, in addition to getting Mr. Justin ‘Rambo’ Salinas (of the famed Hot Pants party in Minneapolis) – who was also spinning at the party – to contribute his set as well.
What does this mean to you?
Well, you get to wrap your ears around two superb sets of funk and soul by two of the country’s finest selectors, with Tarik bringing a regionally diverse set of heat, and Justin dropping a very nice set of Chicano soul and funk bouncing from Texas to East LA and back again (that Intruders cover by the Eptones is amazing!).
Very groovy indeed!
And now, a few words from Tarik about the experience.
“Hip Drop is the opening party for the Ponderosa Stomp. This 45 all-nighter hosts 10 DJs from all around the world. This year Justin Salinas along with myself were invited to participate in the festivities. Justin, who is a member of the Hot Pants Crew of Minneapolis, flew into New Orleans with only backpack and a 45 case ready for action. As for myself,a New Orleans native, this was a homecoming of sorts. I haven’t lived in the city for almost 10yrs so this weekend was very welcoming and adownright funky experience. As you can tell from both of our sets the night was hot and heavy as all the invited DJs brought in their best arsenal of 45’s. Throughout the madness of the weekend, I managed to dig up an old Mini Disc player to record both of our sets live! The end result is a something only fit for place called The Funky 16 Corners. Enjoy!”
– Tarik Thornton
I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back later in the week.
F16C Soul Club Presents – Funky16Corners Live at Master Groove 9/19/10
Playlist
Coasters – Soul Pad (Date) * JBs – Gimme Some More (People) * Nina Simone – Save Me (RCA) * Magictones – Good Old Music (Westbound) * Gate Wesley & Band with Billy LaMont – Do the Thing (Atlantic) * King Curtis – Memphis Soul Stew (Atco) * Lyn Collins – Give It Up or Turnit a Loose (People) * Popcorn Wylie – Funky Rubber Band (Soul) * Impressions – Mighty Mighty Spade & Whitey (Curtom) * Reggie Milner – Soul Machine (Volt) * The Touch – Pick & Shovel (LeCasver) * Bobo Mr Soul – H.L.I.C. (Ovide) * Ace Cannon – Drunk (Hi) * Blue Notes – Hot Thrills & Cold Chills (UNI) * Eddie Bo – Hook & Sling Pt 1 (Scram) * Linda Lyndell – What a Man (Volt) * Creative Funk – Funk Power (Creative Funk) * Royalettes – River of Tears (Roulette) * Bobby Freeman – Do You Wanna Dance 1970 (Double Shot) * Mickey and the Soul Generation – Football (Maxwell) * Pat Rhoden – Boogie On Reggae Woman (Horse) *
The middle of the week, and I’m up to my ass in hungry alligators, with the real world crap and preparing for my excursion to our nation’s capitol, during which I will address congress on my solutions to all the big problems currently driving us crazy (or at least those members of congress willing to come down to Marvin on Saturday night, or the DC Record Fair on Sunday and extract said solutions from within the grooves of various funk, soul and disco records).
Since I am so occupied, I figured I’d whip out my massive custodian’s key ring and open up the Funky16Corners Soul Club so that you might check out my set from this past Sunday night at Master Groove.
DJ Bluewater has things back up and running at Fat Buddha (formerly Forbidden City, same place, same great food, but now with a swanky DJ booth for the likes of me to spin the records) with the mighty M-Fasis at his side and a stellar line up of guest selectors and their 45s every Sunday night (212 Ave A NYC). You should fall by some time, grab a pork bun, dumpling or other delicious morsel and fill your ears up with the good stuff.
This set includes some old faves, a grip of newer stuff that will soon be appearing in this space with the trenchant analysis you’ve come to know and love, and a couple of things from deep in the crates.
There are a couple of inelegant segues, but that’s the way it happens when your DJ is checking his phone when he ought to be hovering over the mixer. As always we present these unvarnished turntable exercises in the form a single MP3, without the zip file that accompanies the regular Funky16Corners mixes.
I hope you dig it, and hopefully I’ll be back on Friday with a little something to hold you for the weekend.
Those of you that have been here for a while might remember a time a few years back where there was a period of a couple of months where there seemed to be an obit posted here at least once a week.
I take no joy whatsoever in reporting the deaths of the musicians we revere, but considering the lack of respect many of these artists got during their lives, or are like to get after they pass, it seems only fair that we all stop and take a moment to remember them and the music they made.
A few days ago, I got an e-mail notification that someone had signed the Guest List at the Funky16Corners webzine.
The webzine has been around for a decade, and there’s lots of content there, from feature stories and discographies to simple 45 reviews, and it’s depth and longevity has turned it into a huge Google-net of sorts, in that it sends up results for all kinds of searches, some related, some not.
This has proven to be an interesting by-product, since lots of musicians and their families have gotten in contact with me via hitting the webzine.
Unfortunately, as is the case with all news, sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s bad.
The world of 60s soul is filled with stories, many of which are short, bittersweet and ultimately incomplete.
Diamond Joe, a masterful singer and accomplished songwriter, who made two of my Top 10 soul 45s during his very short career, starred in such a story.
What little I’ve ever been able to find out about him has been by and large related to his recordings, made during a period that lasted less than a decade.
He was a New Orleans singer who recorded all of his work alongside the mighty Allen Toussaint, but like a few other artists in that orbit, also wrote some of his own material.
I probably first heard his amazing voice when I encountered his 1966 Sansu 45 ‘Gossip Gossip’ on an old Charly Records CD comp. It was an eye-opening experience in that it was clear from the very first time I heard it that ‘Gossip Gossip’ was one of the truly great soul 45s of the 60s.
What was also clear was that I had never heard the tune, nor its singer before, and as is always the case, its started me on a years-long search for the rest of his recordings.
The first sad marker in this saga was discovering that he had only recorded seven 45s in his short career.
I’ve been collecting obscure music for most of my life, and while a lot of it is good, some of it great, every once in a great while you discover a record that is absolutely brilliant. Diamond Joe recorded two of these records, and his reward was utter obscurity.
This is galling because, as it is with anything in life, when you find something that blows your mind, you’d naturally like to find more of it, and when that something begins and ends with just over a dozen songs, and then trails off into nothingness, it borders on infuriating.
Diamond Joe was, like Eldridge Holmes(who also worked almost exclusively with Toussaint) a singer of great talent, as adept with epic ballads as he was with rough edged, fast moving soul. He was possessed of a gruff baritone that could move from a growl to the most subtle whisper within the few minutes of music on a 45.
As tempting as it is to wonder why he wasn’t more successful, the point is ultimately moot. Whether it was because he was lost in a huge pool of talent in New Orleans (there are TONS of amazing New Orleans 45s that never got heard much outside of the region), or an even bigger pool nationally, or that he was just fated to create great records that few would hear (cruel fate, that), as far as I can tell be never recorded after his last Deesu 45 (both sides of which are included here today).
Until I saw the picture posted with his obit (seen above) I had no idea what he looked like.
The four tunes I post in his memory include both of my favorites, as well as a few other great ones to illustrate the breadth of his talent.
The earliest of these is 1963’s ‘Fair Play’, written by Earl King and Allen Orange. ‘Fair Play’ is an absolutely mid-bending record. In just over two minutes you get to hear Diamond Joe wrap his amazing voice around a heartbreaking melody, all contained within a stunning arrangement (how many soul records have you heard with autoharp??). No matter how many times I hear this one, it still haunts me.
‘Gossip Gossip’, from 1966 is one of those records that in a just world would have been a hit. Once again you combine a great arrangement (I believe that’s Toussaint’s speaking voice you hear at the beginning) that combines rough organ, chopping rhythm guitar and a majestic horn chart, all dwarfed by Diamond Joe’s powerful vocal.
The last two songs here are the two sides of Diamond Joe’s final 45, recorded for the Deesu label in (I believe) 1968.
‘The ABC Song’ and ‘Look Way Back’ were both written by the singer with one side funky and the other side a preaching ballad. He’s great in both styles/
I’d say you should head out there and pick yourself up some Diamond Joe, but as far as I can tell, nothing remains in print. His 45s are not easy to come by.
I hope you dig what you’re hearing today and my heart goes out to his family.
I’m sitting here, and it’s early. No one (except the kids, natch) has had enough sleep, but it’s relatively quiet so I figured I’d better get some writing in before the day gets rolling.
The summer – bracketed by Memorial Day and Labor Day – is almost over, and that, surprisingly enough, is a good thing.
Labor Day is approaching, and with it comes the exodus of the tourists. This glorious occasion is followed by a month of great weather, a serious drop in traffic and crowds, and with it the gradual restoration of my peace of mind (which seems in constant danger of extinction).
The tune I bring you today is a kicking slice of New Orleans funk, with as solid a pedigree as these things ever have.
The artist in question is the mighty Earl King.
You do not know him?
I say ‘au contraire, mon frere!’, because while Earl King may not have had any big hits, he was directly or indirectly responsible for many great pieces of music, including Professor Longhair’s legendary ‘Big Chief’ (which King wrote and sang on), the blues/soul standards ‘Come On’ (which Jimi Hendrix covered on ‘Electric Ladyland’) and ‘Trick Bag’, in addition to being an indispensable part of New Orleans music in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
One need only dip into their New Orleans crates (you can substitute theoretical boxes of New Orleans 45s if you don’t have real ones) and see how many great records were either recorded by King, or bear the mark of his pen and/or performance (often under his real name, Earl Johnson).
The tune I bring you today is one of the few vinyl remnants of a 1970 King session, helmed by no less a light than Allen Toussaint and backed by a certain local combo called the Meters. This conglomeration recorded an album’s worth of material, but since a satisfactory deal never materialized, all that ever saw the light of day at the time was a few 45s.
One of these, ‘Street Parade’ (on the hard-to-find Kansu label) was featured in this space back in ought-seven. As Mardi Gras tributes go, they don’t get much better (or funkier) than ‘Street Parade’.
There’s a great, repeated bass guitar riff that kind of pushes the rhythm, Zig Modeliste’s snappy drums, and a nice horn chart riding in the background.
Despite the uninspired lyrics, it’s always great to hear King’s voice, and in the end what you are supposed be doing with this record is dancing, not parsing the meaning of the words, so take it all as a very groovy whole, and shake your thing a little bit.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something mellow.
Greetings all.
Before we get started I should note that I heard the sad news this morning that one of my all time faves, Gene Ludwig, – master of the Hammond organ – has passed away. I wanted to put together a suitable tribute, so I’ll be pulling some records from the crates and digimatizing them for a tribute post on Monday. Please keep his wife Pattye in your thoughts.
The tune I bring you today is a cut by one of my favorite New Orleans singers.
Oddly enough, as obscure as he is, Willie Harper is one of the first NOLA vocalists I had in my crates, via the fairly common and extremely cool ‘But I Couldn’t’ on ALON records. This was the very first single released on Allen Toussaint and Joe Banashak’s ALON imprint and the flipside ‘A New Kind of Love’ was a local hit. He would go on to record five singles for ALON.
I don’t know anything about Harper’s life, but as a huge fan of both New Orleans music and Allen Toussaint his voice has been a familiar one for years.
Harper recorded on and off through the 60s, like many other singers, almost exclusively with Allen Toussaint. He recorded under his own name for ALON and Sansu (two 45s under his own name, ‘You You‘ and ‘Here Comes The Hurt‘) , and as one half (with Toussaint) of Willie and Allen (’I Don‘t Need No One‘) , as part of the Rubaiyats (the storming ‘Omar Khayyam’, also basically Willie and Allen) and as a backing singer on a number of Toussaint productions for Benny Spellman and Ernie K Doe.
Speaking of K Doe, it was he that first recorded Toussaint’s ‘A Certain Girl’ in 1961. It went on to be a British Invasion favorite, with covers by the Yardbirds, the Animals, the First Gear, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders and the Paramounts (featuring Gary Brooker and Robin Trower, later of Procol Harum).
Willie Harper recorded ‘A Certain Girl’ for Tou-Sea in 1968, and it’s turned into one of my favorite, purely soul sides out of the Crescent City.
I’ve always found the Tou-Sea (that’s Toussaint & Marshal Seahorn) label to be an interesting footnote in late 60s New Orleans music. As far as I can tell the label’s discography isn’t very lengthy*, and the releases I’ve come across are all on the grittier side. How they decided to place these particular sides (including 45s by Warren Lee, Harper and Gus ‘The Groove’ Lewis), I don’t know, but as Dan Phillips of the mighty Home of the Groove blog has noted, some of the Tou-Sea sides were not specifically Toussaint projects. Some of them, including today’s selection, were produced and arranged by none other than Wardell Quezerque (billed here as both ‘Big Q’ and ‘DC Wardell’.
It is a constant source of regret that I haven’t made a closer study of Quezerque’s production and arranging work (god knows my crates are filled with his work).
He was prolific, and probably, among the “Big Three’ in New Orleans – Toussaint, Eddie Bo and himself – the biggest hitmaker. He was the man behind NOLA records, and produced and arranged for just about anyone who was anyone in the Crescent City, hitting the charts with Professor Longhair, Earl King, Tami Lynn, Robert Parker, King Floyd and Jean Knight among many others. He also worked as a producer and arranger for many non-New Orleans artists like the Pointer Sisters, BB King, and Ruth Brown.
Harper’s version of the tune features a prominent horn section, with just a touch of that relaxed, New Orleans tempo. Harper is – as always – in fine voice (improvising new lyrics here and there) , backed by a female chorus.
It’s a great 45, and maybe proof that someone out there ought to collect the stuff that Harper recorded during the 60s (and early 70s) into a comp.
I hope you dig it and I’ll be back on Monday.
Peace
Larry
*I’ve seen listings for – but largely haven’t heard – releases on Tou-Sea by Mill Evans, Jay Roy, Ray Algere, Zilla Mayes and Johnny Green (Algere being the only one of those I’m familiar with)
Greetings all, and welcome to the 2010 Funky16Corners Pledge Drive, beer blast and chili cook-off (well…just the first one, really, but I wouldn’t mind some cold beer and hot chili alongside the funk and soul 45s).
This is the fifth year I’ve come to you with my hand outstretched, asking that those of you that are so inclined, and of course can afford to, donate some small sum to contribute to the upkeep of the Funky16Corners empire (as it is).
To go into the WABAC machine for a moment, this all started four years ago, when Funky16Corners was the only blog I did, and was operated at very little cost, employing the same cheapo file storage and bandwidth that I used for the Funky16Corners web zine.
Then, out of the blue the good people at BoingBoing, a VERY heavily traveled site, linked to one of my posts, and in a single day Funky16Corners got enough traffic to erase a months worth of bandwidth, just about shutting things down.
It was at that point that I checked in with some of my more, how do they say ‘web savvy’ friends, who informed me that I should probably take the opportunity to move the whole shebang to a paid server space where storage and bandwidth spikes would not present such an issue.
So, I signed up and moved on to bigger and better things.
As a result, I started the yearly Pledge Drive in an attempt to offset the cost of the server.
In the years that followed, the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast (and the ensuing archive, the most heavily attended section of the site) got started, the blog moved from Blogger to WordPress, and then this year, following some menacing behavior by the otherwise wonderful folks at the free WordPress service, I crated up the whole mess and made the move to run the WordPress software (a related but separate entity from the blog host) our of my own server space. While doing that, I redesigned the blog, opened the Guest Mix Archive and watched my stats drop and subsequently rebound as the rest of the world adjusted their links accordingly. Of course, the fact that I only just discovered that I neglected to set up the post archives properly, means that they’ve been offline from when the blog moved in January until yesterday. That didn’t help.
As in previous Pledge Drives, I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. This year’s shindig evolved out of a recent change, in the blog, and the real world as well.
The last year has seen two important acquisitions in the Funky16Corners equipment arsenal. First and foremost, last Christmas my wife got me a portable digital recorder. Second – thanks to an unexpected windfall from a rare trip to the slot machines – I finally picked up a second turntable and a mixer, completing my home DJ set-up.
What this new equipment allowed me to do was (among other things) to record, and present to you, ‘live’ DJ mixes. The first of these appeared at Funky16Corners via sets recorded live at Master Groove in New York City. Later on, after the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcast Lab was up and running, I started to record mixes from my own turntables.
It was after I posted one of these, with the caveat that mixes recorded live would not have accompanying zip files of individually recorded tracks (for obvious, labor intensive reasons), that a reader (thanks Michael!) suggested that these mixes have their own section of the blog, and their own numbering sequence.
I had been thinking of something similar, and decided to take this idea a step further.
Though I have done a fair number of guest mixes for other blogs/sites, I have never (aside from a collaboration with my man DJ Prestige) ever hosted guest mixes by other DJs here at Funky16Corners.
Taking a page from the ‘two birds with one stone’ book, I decided that this year’s Pledge Drive would be a great time for the opening of what I’m calling the Funky16Corners Soul Club.
The Soul Club will be a repository for live mixes (whether recorded in the club, or on the decks at home), both by yours truly, and by DJs whoes work and sensibility I respect.
The Funky16Corners Soul Club will be opening with a virtual ‘Allnighter’, that being a collection of eight separate mixes (two by me to open and close the festivities, six by others). Once you pull down the ones and zeros you’ll be able to simulate, in the home setting, free of sweat (other people’s anyway), spilled beer (same there) and the like, a full evening (and then some) of high quality, professionally mixed funk and soul music.
When I decided to put this together, I put out some feelers to some of my favorite DJs, including the core of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions Crew, Brian Poust aka Agent45, and DJ Tarik Thornton and asked them to contribute mixes for the grand opening of Soul Club.
If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any length of time, you’ve definitely heard about DJs Prestige, Prime Mundo, Bluewater and M-Fasis. I’ve been spinning with the Asbury Park 45 sessions crew for almost three years now, and during that time have developed a huge amount of respect for my fellow resident selectors.
Though I’ve DJ’d with a lot of people, my time with the AP45 crew has been a serious learning experience. These DJs have not only skills, and deep crates, but above all it’s their extraordinary taste that makes them great. I’ve written about it in this space before, but I have to reiterate how often an AP45 Sessions turns into a learning experience with one (or often more) DJ running up to the decks to see what another selector is spinning. There are many hot 45s in my DJ box that can be traced directly back to the AP45 Sessions, whether from one of the residents, or from one of the many distinguished guests that have graced us with their presence over the years.
DJ Prime Mundo may very well have the deepest crates of any working chef (including well known digger Julia Child). He applies the same levels of care and imagination to his DJ sets as he does to his food. Prime Mundo is – like every DJ represented here – a tireless digger with exceptional taste.
DJ Bluewater, in addition to being a longtime resident selector on the AP45 crew is the founder of Master Groove in NYC and a well regarded drum’n’bass DJ. He is a self described ‘funk 45 nerd’ and a connoisseur of heavy, heavy breakbeats.
M-Fasis, DJ and producer is the master of digging up and uncovering the heaviest records you’ve never heard of (or never expected). A resident at both the Asbury Park 45 Sessions and Master Groove, he also makes beats and produces.
Brian Poust, aka Agent45 is, in addition to running the most excellent Georgia Soul web site and blog, is one of the most respected soul DJs working today. Based out of Georgia, but traveling far and wide to spin funk, soul and gospel, Brian always brings the heat.
DJ Tarik Thornton is a native of New Orleans who has DJ’d (in clubs and on the radio) all over the country. He has a generosity of spirit, and like all the other DJs here, excellent taste in music. He started in college radio at WTUL in New Orleans, before relocating to New York City, and eventually Milwaukee, WI where he met up and started working with the crew at Burn Hearts. He has since spun with DJ Finewine (WFMU), Justin Salinas and the Hot Pants crew as well as the Hipshaker DJs in Minneapolis.
I don’t expect many of you to listen to these mixes end to end (though considering the amount of heat therein, you could do much worse with the next seven plus hours of your life) but the interwebs and MP3s being what they are, you can pull them down, file them however you like and soak up the good stuff at your leisure.
Once again, if you dig what I do here at Funky16Corners (and over at Iron Leg as well), and the current economy hasn’t left you destitute, please take the time to click on the Paypal link and toss a couple of shekels into the hat to help keep things going. It would be greatly appreciated, and since I’m going to keep working on this blog as long as time (and money) allow, it’ll keep the long list (close to 100) of mixes up and growing.
Over the last ten years, with the web zine, the blogs and getting to spin records in a variety of settings, the whole Funky16Corners ‘thing’ has become a big part of my life. The reason for this (aside from obvious matters of time spent) has a lot to do with the interaction these efforts bring me with many cool people, including the collectors and DJs, but also with the folks who just plain love the music and take the time to come out to the gigs or stop by the blog to add to the conversation, or just to say ‘Hi!’.
I’ve made many new friends, been turned on to lots of new music and most importantly found a productive outlet for my passion.
So, dig in, enjoy the music (click on the pledge links) and I’ll see you all next week.
I hope that the end of the week finds you well.
Me, not so much… I have been assailed by a bug that has left me feverish and singularly unmotivated. Had I not experience the tiniest bit of improvement as the day wore on, I wouldn’t be posting at all. But you know how I am, neither rain, nor sleet or whatever…
I’ll start with a bit of news, that bring that the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio just got a prime timeslot upgrade, and will now be airing Friday evenings at 9PM EST. I’ve been doing this show for a while now, but got bumped out of my original slot and into a severely crappy one. That has now been remedied, and there will be some changes in the offing. Thanks to the completion of the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcasting Nerve Center, all of my shows at Viva (starting with next week 4/30) will be recorded and mixed live on the old ones and twos. I have yet to work out getting the spoken parts done that way (right now I record them after I’m done) but I will try to figure it out.
So, if you’re hanging at home (or god forbid, the office) at 9PM on Friday, tune us in over the interwebs for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove.
The tune I bring you today is a bit of a mystery. I can’t honestly remember where I picked this 45 up (though I’m certain it was an E-dig), I do remember getting it home and scratching my head a bit.
The record in question is ‘Ali, Funky Thing Pts 1&2’ by Hank Herb. The record is also (quite clearly to anyone that’s heard the OG) ‘Al, Funky Thing’ by Chuck Cornish (sampled by Cypress Hill). Why this was pressed and credited to the pseudonymous Mr. Herb (they still give songwriting credit to Chuck Cornish, and it’s on the ‘Chuck’ label), I have no earthly idea. I’m sure I thought I was getting some obscure cover version (of an already obscure song) when in fact I was getting the same exact record on a different label.
I don’t know much about Chuck Cornish. He was from New Orleans, and he only recorded a handful of 45s. One of these, the laid back but funky ‘Blue Eye Brother and Soul Get Along’ was featured in this space a few years ago and is a fave.
‘Ali, Funky Thing’ is as you might expect, a funky tribute to the boxing great, with some fantastic twangy guitar and a great horn section. Other than that, as Gertrude Stein once said of her childhood home, ‘There’s no there there’. If anyone has any more info, as to Cornish, or why this was issued in the form you see before you today, please drop me a line.
I’m going to bed.
Have a great weekend.
Greetings all.
I hope that the middle of the week find you all well, especially those of you within driving distance of the Big Apple. I’ll be spinning tonight (Wednesday 3/10) at Master Groove @Forbidden City, and it’d be great to meet up with some more of you good people. I have a very special, downtempoMod Soul set line up, which I think you’ll dig. The beer will be cold, the food is excellent, and of course the vinyl (spinning at 45RPM) will be worth the trip. I hope to see you there.
A few weeks back, when I dropped the Northern Soul mix, I made mention of the fact that one of the best records in that mix (the Four Larks ‘Groovin’ at the Go Go’), which was a long time white whale of mine eventually made it’s way into my crates via a very cool, and extremely generous reader who found a mint copy of the record and sent it to me. Today’s selection arrived at the Funky16Corners record vault in much the same way.
Late last year, my man Tarik (who’ll also be spinning tonight at Botanica alongside the mighty Mr. Finewine) connected with me via the interwebs to tell me about some digging he’d been doing down in New Orleans. Naturally I was jealous, but also glad to hear that someone was excavating vinyl in the Crescent City. Not long after we’d chatted, a package arrived in the mail, and in addition to some cool stuff for the little Corners, Tarik sent me some very cool 45s, my favorite of which is today’s selection.
If you’re a fan of New Orleans soul and funk, the name Willie Tee (nee Turbinton) ought to be a familiar one. In addition to mid-60s records under his own name for NOLA and Atlantic (1965s ‘Walking Up a One Way Street’ is a big fave with the soulies), Willie went on to form the Gaturs* with his brother Earl, and made some of the best instrumental funk 45s to come out of New Orleans in the early 70s. He was also an accomplished jazz musician.
In the years before and after the Gaturs, Tee made a number of excellent records for a variety of local (Hot Line, Bonatemp, Gatur) and national (Atco, UA, Capitol) labels, up until his untimely passing in 2007.
Today’s selection, ‘Sweet Thing’ was released on the Gatur label in 1973. It’s one of Willie Tee’s funkiest outings, with a real, slick uptown sound that sounds like it could have been pulled from a blaxploitation soundtrack. Not only do you get Willie’s fine vocals and funky electric piano, but there are layers of wah-wah guitar and classy strings. I also dig the mix of drum set and hand drums. The last time I dropped this at the Asbury Park 45 Sessions it had a couple of the other DJs running up to the turntables to see what it was.
Yet another great funk 45 from the Big Easy.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Friday
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