Comments (1)

By Larry, January 19, 2016 12:03 pm

Ramsey Lewis (l), Ansil Collins and Dave Barker (r)

Listen/Download – Ramsey Lewis – Party Time MP3

Greetings all.

Welcome to the middle of the week.

Nothing grooves me more than finding out the source of a sample/cover, especially when I had no idea the record in question was a cover.

Such was the case last year when someone dropped a Youtube clip of the record you see before you today, ‘Party Time’ by Ramsey Lewis.

The ‘cover’ in question is one of the great skinhead reggae 45s of all time, Dave and Ansil Collins’ ‘Double Barrell’.

There are a lot of reggae/ska tunes that borrow (a charitable assessment…) from US/UK pop, jazz and soul, but I never knew that ‘Double Barrel’ (an all-time fave, of which I own at least three different copies) was one of them.

‘Party Time’ composed for Lewis by none other than the mighty Richard Evans, and arranged and produced by him for the 1967 ‘Up Pops Ramsey’ LP, is a groovy number with some punchy drums and upright bass setting the foundation for Lewis’s piano soloing.

The arrangement by Evans is first-rate, up there with the best of his Soulful Strings efforts.

Dave and Ansil Collins either heard the LP or the 45 of ‘Party Time’, and with the addition of some toasting by Dave Barker, ‘Double Barrel’ took Evans melody and turned it into an island classic in 1969.

‘Up Pops Ramsey’ is also worth hearing in its entirety, packed with groovy covers and of course those Richard Evans arrangements.

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, December 22, 2015 11:55 am

Rotary Connection

Listen/Download – Rotary Connection – Sidewalk Santa MP3

Listen/Download – Rotary Connection – Silent Night Medley MP3

Greetings all.

Today, I offer you two tracks from of one the groovier holiday albums ever made on the soulful side of things.

Rotary Connection are mostly remembered today as the first place much of the world heard the voice of the mighty Minnie Riperton.

The group was of course, much more than that. Guided in the studio by the genius Charles Stepney, Rotary Connection created a unique mixture of soul and rock, crafting some of the most interesting albums of the day.

It helped that they had in their ranks, both Riperton and Sidney Barnes, the latter having made his mark as a singer and songwriter alongside no less a light than George Clinton.

Their Christmas LP ‘Peace’, released in 1968 is – unlike many holiday albums that only mash together a wad of familiar songs – a worthwhile listen all the way through.

The tracks that I bring you today illustrate both the group’s fine originals, as well as their mastery of interpreting classic material.

The first track, ‘Sidewalk Santa’, written and sung by Barnes is somewhat dark soundscape, featuring a heavy – yet tasteful – arrangement by Stepney.

The second cut is actually three of the album’s tracks mixed together (by me…). The group works their way through three versions of ‘Silent Night’, the first an almost jazz rendition of the traditional song, the second moving in a more rock interpretation, with fuzz guitar and Riperton’s wordless vocals, and the third, ‘Silent Night Chant’ letting its freak flag fly with the full rock treatment (the whole mix coming in at almost 15 minutes, more than half of the album).

It serves as both a great holiday sound, but also a doorway into the sounds of the Rotary Connection.

I hope you dig the tunes, and I’ll be back on Friday with a mix of soulful holiday faves.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, November 19, 2015 3:29 pm

Bernice Willis (left) with the Kittens

Listen/Download – Bernice Willis – Breakfast In Bed MP3

Listen/Download – Bernice Willis – Confidence MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is nigh, so I will ask you once again to grab yourself a weekly dose of soul in the form of the Funky16 Corners Radio Show podcast. We come to you every week (and once a month at SoulGuyRadio.com) with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app or grab a download here in the archive.

Today’s selection is one of those 45s that I picked up knowing nothing about the artist, but when I saw the label (gotta keep stacking up those Okehs!) and a song I really dig (‘Breakfast In Bed’) I knew I had to have it.

Good thing, too, because Bernice Willis’s take on the Eddie Hinton/Donnie Fritts classic is very nice, indeed, and sports a nice funky tune on the flip.

There isn’t much out there on Bernice Willis who does not appear to have done much solo recording. However, she did make a grip of 45s with her previous group, the Chicago-based Kittens for labels like Vick, ABC/Paramount and Chess between 1963 and 1967.

The 45 you see before you today was recorded in 1969, and oddly enough when you Google it, there is a listing in a December 1969 edition of Billboard, where it is included as a soul single expected to chart, right next to another version of the song by Baby Washington (which appeared here back in 2006)!

Willis’s version opens with an odd-sounding electric piano (also used on the flip), then Willis comes in with a deep, sexy, gospel-inflected voice. Willis takes the tune at a more muscular, funky pace than the hit by Dusty Springfield (or the version by Washington).

The flipside ‘Confidence’ is a nice, funky,midtempo number with lots of bass and conga drums, and another great vocal by Willis.

I can’t find any evidence that Bernice Willis made any records after this Okeh 45, which is a shame.

I hope you dig the 45, and I’ll see you all next week.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 22, 2015 11:27 am

Johnny Sayles

Listen/Download – Johnny Sayles – The Concentration

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here so I will remind you once again to join me Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio for the Funky16Corners Radio Show. You can also subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab yourself an MP3 here at the blog.

The burner I bring you today is a smoking bit of Chitown soul by the mighty Johnny Sayles.

Though Sayles never really had any chart success to speak of (outside of Chicago) he recorded a grip of excellent, hard-edge 45s for a variety of Chicago labels like Mar-V-Lus, Chi Town, Chess, St Lawrence, Dakar and Brunswick between 1963 and 1973.

Sayles was born in Tennessee, and later moved to St Louis where he hooked up with Ike Turner.

He toured with a variety of bands before ending up in Chicago in the early 60s, where he would work as a singer, as well as having a second career as a prison guard!

Sayles recorded ‘The Concentration’ in 1965, and the song (written by the mighty Andre Williams!) comes off like a much wilder/rougher take on the same basic source material as Junior Walker and the All Stars ‘Shake and Fingerpop’ which was released earlier that year.

‘The Concentration’ leads off with a wailing saxophone, before Sayles drops in with a fiery vocal. The whole thing is driven along by a punchy horn section and a deceptively low-key lead guitar line.

Though the tune is built on a basic ‘dance craze’ frame, Sayles’ vocal and the deep, reverbed production take it to a higher level.

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 20, 2015 10:42 am

Jo Armstead

Listen/Download – Jo Armstead – I Feel An Urge Coming On MP3

Greetings all.

In furtherance of the idea that one really ought to start the week off with a solid kick in the pants, I bring you this fiery biscuit from the discography of the mighty Jo Armstead.

Miss Armstead has appeared in this space before, with single tracks, in mixes and in many references to her talents as a songwriter.

Getting her start in the ranks of the Ikettes (she’s on ‘I’m Blue’), Armstead went on to record some very tasty singles for her own Giant label, and working as a songsmith, often in collaborations with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson.

The song I bring you today is perhaps her best loved entry in the Northern Soul sweepstakes.

Released in 1967, ‘I Feel an Urge Coming On’ was a favorite on UK dance floors in haunts like the Golden Torch and the Blackpool Mecca.

It is a fast moving, tuneful groover (arranged by Mike Terry) with a powerful vocal by Armstead, piano (high in the mix), rhythm guitar and tastefully applied strings (as in just enough for added drama, but not so much that things ever get syrupy).

Armstead (who ran Giant with her husband Mel Collins) would release five singles on the label – all killers – in 1967 and 1968.

She went on to write or cowrite tunes for a veritable who’s who of 1960s soul and R&B, including Chuck Jackson and Maxine Brown, Marie Knight, Ray Charles, Betty Everett, the Apollas, Candy and the Kisses and many, many more.

Though she is loved by soulies the world over, she ought to be much better known.

So dig in (and dance if you are so inclined) 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).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, September 13, 2015 11:22 am

Freddie Roulette

Listen/Download – Jackie & Tut – Hawaiian Punch MP3

Listen/Download – Jackie & Tut (feat. Herb Kent) – 10-2 Double Plus MP3

Greetings all.

I thought we’d start the week with a rather recent acquisition, one so groovy that I felt the need to bump it right up to the front of the line.

A while back someone posted Jackie and Tut’s ‘Hawaiian Punch’ on Facebook and I just about fell in love with it.

There’s a Latin phrase (which has popped up in this space before) ‘sui generis’, which is used to describe something that is unique, or in a class by itself.

‘Hawaiian Punch’ is mos def sui generis.

The first thing that grabbed me, aside from the steady groove, was the wobble-legged steel guitar lead, something I’m not accustomed to hearing on a funky record.

Sure, there are a handful of very groovy soul sides out there with pedal steel woven into the fabric, but this is the first one I’ve ever heard where it (though this is lap steel) used as a lead instrument.

The man behind the steel wasa Chitown cat named Freddie Roulette, who played locally (with Earl Hooker among others), eventually recording an album of his own – ‘Sweet Funky Steel’ – for Janus in 1973.

‘Hawaiian Punch’ was recorded in 1967 (you have to wonder if Robbie Krieger heard it before the Doors did ‘Moonlight Drive’) and released with a vocal, provided by none other than Chicago radio legend Herb Kent, on the flip called ’10-2 Double Plus’ (with Kent basically rapping over ‘Hawaiian Punch’). I tend to prefer the pure instrumental, but both sides are worth hearing.

The track is funky (thanks in large part to an absolutely titanic bass sound) and incredibly infectious. Put this one on at your next stein hoist and just try to keep the people from dancing.

Roulette continued to record in a wide variety of bands over the years, and is still active today.

I hope you dig the track, 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). Click here to go to the ordering page.

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, August 11, 2015 10:49 am

Listen/Download – Slim Willis Band – I Say That MP3

Greetings all.

I have to start things out by sending out a big (HUGE) thank you to my man Kris Holmes, through whom I first encountered today’s monster of a 45.

Back when Kris was doing his weekly radio thing on Radio Ponsonby in NZ, he dropped this heater one night and it went directly onto my want list.

As it turns out, most of the available info on the 45 comes to us via Kris’s ‘Greenville and Beyond’ project, in which he tracks the various and sundry threads passing into, through and beyond a group of Mississippi-based labels.

Interestingly enough, though this 45, The Slim Willis Band ‘I Say That’ bears a Mississippi address, it was boiled up in Chitown.

‘I Say That’ is one of those records that is both amazing, and confounding at the same time.

Ostensibly a blues side, yet undeniably funk as well, it brings with it a kind of brilliant, sui generis production that makes you wonder why it isn’t much better known.

What ‘I Say That’ sounds like, is a conglomeration of 60s garage band, Southside electric blues, and then an extra helping of Southside-electric-blues-UK-ripoff, a la Led Zeppelin, cooked long and slow in a cauldron in the back of a tin-roof shack somewhere.

The way the bass and drums throb relentlessly, and the Little Walter-on-LSD echoed harp dancing around in the mix ricochet off of each other (not to mention the sax-o-mo-phone) is a thing to behold.

It’s one of those records that sounds like a genre unto itself, which it ought to be, but instead it’s the sole purvey of 45 collector types like you and me, which is fine, too.

As far as I can tell, this is of an early 70s vintage. Willis recorded singles for a variety of labels, and you can probably grab yourself a copy of this one in the $40.00 range (results may vary..).

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you 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).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, August 2, 2015 3:08 pm

Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez

Listen/Download – Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez – The Question (Do You Love Me) MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well.

The track I bring you today is one of the more interesting b-sides I’ve come across in the last few years.
As a serious Hammond-hound, it should come as no surprise that I have a grip of Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez records in my crates.

Starting with ‘The Happy Organ’ in 1959, Cortez had a number of hits on the Pop and R&B charts into the early 60s.
The cool thing is, despite a lack of chart success later on, he continued to record for a variety of labels, including Chess, Okeh, Roulette and T-Neck well into the 70s.

Today’s selection comes from his 1964 Okeh 45 with the organ instro ‘Popping Popcorn’ on the a-side.

‘The Question (Do You Love Me)’ co-written by Cortez (under his real name, Dave Clowney) and producer Teddy Vann, displays Cortez in the unusual role of vocalist.

His singing on record was not unheard of, but hardly common, and the really groovy thing is that he does a fantastic job.

The song is a pleading ballad, with Cortez trading lines with a female chorus. The backing is fairly simple, with piano, bass and some very cool twangy guitar, and there’s a great, uptempo gospel breakdown in the middle of the song.

It’s a very cool record, and proof once again that you simply must flip over those 45s.

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). Click here to go to the ordering page.

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 16, 2015 1:20 pm

Willie Henderson

Listen/Download – Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions – Funky Chicken Pt1 MP3

Listen/Download – Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions – Funky Chicken Pt2 MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so I will remind you to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can follow the show by subscribing to it as a podcast in iTunes, listening on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

I thought we’d close out the week with something funky (and coincidentally, ‘chickeny’ as well).

Though I certainly knew of the ‘funky chicken’ dance as a kid, I don’t ever remember hearing Willie Henderson’s ‘Funky Chicken’, though, since I was 7, and not listening to black radio at the time (it barely made it into the Pop Hot 100) it was pretty easy for a white, suburban child to miss.

That said, thirty years hence, I grabbed myself a copy of the 45 and dug in with gusto.

If you area devotee of Chicago soul, the name Willie Henderson ought to be a familiar one. Starting in the late 60s, Henderson was a significant presence as a session musician (baritone sax), composer, arranger and producer, especially for Brunswick and Dakar.

He wrote for and produced a wide variety of Chicago-based artists, like Mamie Galore, Syl Johnson, the Chi-Lites, Artistics, Gene Chandler, Major Lance and many others.

Released as by Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions, ‘Funky Chicken Pts 1&2’ was an R&B Top 20 hit early in 1970. Packed with heavy drums, chiming guitars, and of course, chicken sound effects, the song (produced by the legendary Carl Davis) is a dance floor mover, with a very tasty drum breakdown in Part 2.

Though the LP might set you back a few bucks, you should be able to file a copy of this most excellent 45 in your play box for less than ten dollars.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 2, 2015 11:10 am

Jackie and the Count!

Listen/Download – Jackie Wilson & Count Basie – Uptight (Everything’s Alright) MP3

Greetings all.

The 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive has finally finished, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who took the time to stop by and donate, and especially to the DJs who dug into their crates and provided mixes.

This is always a favorite time of year, not only because I get to dig (right along with you) all the new sounds, but because of the good folks that show their love for Funky16Corners.

So thanks again, and let’s get going on the new year!

Don’t forget the drawing for 2015 Allnighter Donors (open until the end of next week).

The good folks at Secret Stash Records have sent along some very groovy promos as incentives for you good folks to donate to the 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

We have two pairs of two 2-record sets comprised of rare and unreleased material from the legendary Chicago soul labels Mar-V-Lus and One-Derful Records!

At the end of next week I will randomly select two winners from the list of this year’s donors to receive these incredible prizes. All you need to do (unless you’ve already kicked in, in which case you’re already eligible) is click on the Paypal button and donate at least $5.00USD to be entered for a chance to win.

All the names will go into a hat and one of the little Corners will select the winners, who will be announced in this space as well as notified via e-mail.

So get to clicking!

___________________________________________________

I thought it would be cool to close out the week with something extra groovy.

Jackie Wilson was one of the true giants of the classic soul era, and was all over the charts for more than a decade.

During his long, fruitful run at Brunswick Records, he recorded a pair of 45s backed by none other than the mighty Count Basie.

Like most other big band jazzers, the Count found himself struggling for relevance in the pop market of the ate 60s, and as a result was recording a wide variety of pop material in a number of different settings.

During 1967 and 1968, Basie and his band recorded an LP (‘Basie’s In the Bag’) and a few 45s under their own name, and another LP (‘Manufacturers of Soul’) and 2 45s alongside Wilson.

The album with Wilson was composed entirely of contemporary soul/R&B covers, including today’s selection, a version of Stevie Wonder’s 1965 hit ‘Uptight (Everything’s Alright)’.

The arrangement (by jazz vet Benny Carter) is brassy and hard-hitting, keeping the big-band-isms to a minimum and letting Jackie do his thing. There’s plenty of punch for the dance floor, and Jackie is in fine form.

This record had some minor chart action in Philadelphia, with the pairing’s take on ‘For Your Precious Love’ making it into the Top 40 in a number of markets.

It is very cool, indeed, and I hope you dig it.

Have a great weekend.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, May 28, 2015 10:13 am

Miss Mable John

Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time, Same Place

Eddie Jones – Let’s Stop Fooling Ourselves (Fairmount)
Andy Butler – Take Me (TRC)
Mable John – Same Time Same Place (Stax)
Steve Colt and the 45s – So far Away (RCA)
Vanguards – Somebody Please (Whiz)
Invincibles – Heart Full of Love(WB)
Tyrone Davis – Knock On Wood (Dakar)
Barbara Perry – Unlovable (Goldwax)
Ike and Tina Turner – Too Many Ties That Bind (Minit)
Carl Hall – You Don’t Know Nothing About Love (Loma)
Gloria Jones – When He Touches Me (Minit)
Soul Brothers Six – Somebody Else Is Loving My Baby (Atlantic)
Jackie Verdell – I’m Your Girl (Decca)
Grover Mitchell with St John and the Cardinals – Sweeter As the Days Go By (Josie)
Homer Banks – Lady of Stone (Minit)
Johnny and the Expressions – Something I Want To Tell You (Josie)
McKinley Travis – Baby Is There Something On Your Mind (Soultown)
Soul Clan – That’s How I Feel (Atlantic)
Walter Scott and the Kapers – I Want To Thank You (Ivanhoe)
William Bell – You Don’t Miss Your Water (Stax)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time Same Place 110MB/Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is this week’s episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We come to you each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl.

Also, the 2015 Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive is approaching rapidly. There’s a grip of outstanding mixes ready to roll, so watch this space for details!

Speaking of original vinyl, the flow of it into the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault has continued unabated, and inside that tidal wave of wax has been a goodly amount of those classic soul ballads.

As a collector/appreciator, I came to the world of ballads fairly late in the game, but I hve been making up for lost time.

So prodigious has been the accumulation, that I felt the time was right for a new ballad mix, so here it is.

There is a lot of southern soul in here, but also a couple of stylish west coast items, with stops in Chicago and Philadelphia as well.

As they say on the streets, ‘It’s all good’, but there are some highlights that bear mentioning.

You have to check out Andy Butler’s very groovy take on Bobby Womack’s ‘Take Me’, hardcore honky Steve Colt’s old-school JB-isms in ‘So Far Away’, the lo-fi, gospel-inflected perfection of the Invincibles’ ‘Heart Full of Love’, Ike and Tina bringing it on the b-side with ‘Too Many Ties That Bind’, Carl Hall’s epic ‘You Don’t Know Nothing About Love’, Gloria Jones covering Rodge Martin’s ‘When He Touches Me’, the mighty Soul Clan and ‘That’s How I Feel’ and reliably genius contributions from Mable John, Homer Banks, the Soul Brothers Six, Grover Mitchell, William Bell and many more.

What you get here is ‘Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time, Same Place’, an hour of the finest soulful pleading, shouting and wailing, reaching back into the amen corner, and out into heartbreak alley.

I’ve been spinning this one non-stop since putting it together, so you know it’ll be good.

I hope you dig it (spread the word), and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 26, 2015 12:26 pm

Erma Franklin

Listen/Download – Erma Franklin – Change My Thoughts From You

Greetings all.

Erma Franklin is definitely among the ranks of soul singers that ought to have been much better known, and probably would have been were she not overshadowed by her sister Aretha.

Franklin had a formidable discography of her own, having recorded a string of singles for Epic in the early 60s, but having her biggest success working with Jerry Ragovoy at Shout, where she hit with ‘Piece of my Heart’ in 1966.

After she left Shout in 1968, Franklin recorded an excellent string of 45s (and an LP) for Brunswick.

‘Change My Thoughts From You’ was the b-side of her only other hit, 1969’s ‘Gotta Find Me a Lover (24 Hours a Day)’, which grazed the R&B Top 40 that spring.

Written by Gary Jackson (who co-wrote ‘(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher’ for Jackie Wilson), Carl Davis and Nate Smith, and produced by Davis and Eugene Record, ‘Change My Thoughts From You’ is a great bit of melodic, ever so slightly funky Chitown soul.

Opening with ringing piano chords, followed by crisp drums (dig that big, fat kick drum!) and a very cool bass line, the song moves along at a brisk enough pace for the dancers.

There’s a little bit of crackle at the beginning of this one, but if you take a look at the label (a very cool dealer included this 45 as a freebie with another record) it’s a miracle that it plays at all.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you 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).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.