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By Larry, July 14, 2011 11:07 am

Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith

Alphonso ‘Fonce’ Mizell and Larry Mizell

Listen/Download – Johnny Hammond Smith – Shifting Gears (45 Edit)

Listen/Download – Johnny Hammond Smith – Los Conquistadores Chocolates (45 Edit)

Greetings all.

The end of another week is upon us, and while I am as always up to my substantial ass in alligators, they are all (for a change) well trained and waiting to be fed.

I will be taking to the airwaves of the interwebs once again this Friday night at 9PM for this week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. This time out I have a very groovy, very summery set prepared, so if I was you I’d be muddling the mint and the lime for and icing up the mojitos since this will provide a better than suitable soundtrack for the sipping of hot weather beverages.

As always, if you have something better to do when the show airs, but still think that stuffing some groovy music into your ears will be beneficial, you can always stop by the blog over the weekend and pick the show up in MP3 form.

That said, if you’re in New York City on Monday night, 7/18 I will be manning the decks at Spindletop @ Botanica and will be joined by my friends M-Fasis and Joe Cristando for the spinning of the funky vinyl. I assure you that the sounds will be, in a word, oustand-a-licious (it’s made up, but it’s still a word), so you should fall by, see Dan at the bar about a cocktail and settle in for a night of good music.

As promised I will be using the end of week post to pay tribute to the passing of the great Alphonso ‘Fonce’ Mizell.

If you don’t know the name, Fonce Mizell, over the course of a career that lasted more than forty years left his mark on countless fantastic records.

He came up in Englewood, NJ alongside his brother Larry and their classmate Freddie Perren, all of whom eventually headed down to Howard University in Washington, DC (where they would cross paths with both Donny Hathway (student) and Donald Byrd (teacher).

Following graduation, Larry Mizell would detour for a time into a non-musical career as an engineer, and Fonce Mizell and Freddie Perren would head west to Los Angeles. They would both eventually be signed to Motown as staff writers, where they would eventually become (with Berry Gordy and Deke Richards) part of the songwriting and production team known as ‘The Corporation’.

The Corporation made their biggest mark working with the Jackson Five, writing and producing the group’s biggest early hits like ‘ABC’, ‘The Love You Save’ and ‘I Want You Back’.

After The Corporation went their separate ways in 1972, Larry and Fonce Mizell reunited, forming Sky High Productions, working in the studio with artists like Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz, Bobbie Humphrey, the Blackbyrds and today’s featured artist Johnny Hammond Smith.

The tracks featured today are the 45 edits of two tracks from Hammond’s 1975 ‘Gears’ LP (his second with the Mizells) , produced and almost completely written by Larry and Fonce Mizell. The album featured Sky High stalwarts like Harvey Mason (drums) and Chuck Rainey (bass) and both the Mizell brothers on backing vocals.

The oft-sampled ‘Shifting Gears’ is a funky electric piano showcase for Smith with fantastic contributions from Michael White on electric violin. The tune is a wonderful example of the Mizell brothers ability to craft a mixture of jazz fusion and funk with modern, dance floor-friendly production.

‘Los Conquistadores Chocolates’ is really the standout here, and a quick listen reveals why it was an early favorite at David Mancuso’s Loft parties and the disco scene in general. Opening with synthesized piano, drums, guitar, the tune bursts out into waves of stylish, synthesized strings. It never loses the propulsive power that so endeared it to the dancers, yet the Mizells and Smith manage to weave together a complex mixture of Smith’s Hammond organ, piano (electric and acoustic), vibes, guitar, drums and percussion that never gets crowded and is always pleasing and intriguing to the ear. The 45 edit omits the trippy opening interlude from the album, as well as the last minute and a half of the tune (you can hear the whole thing over at YouTube).

Though the Mizells did much to move fusion forward in the first half of the 70s, they moved on to have their biggest success producing Taste of Honey (who’s ‘Boogie Oogie Oogie’ was the Mizell brothers biggest hit) and LTD.

The brothers retired in the early 80s.

Fonce Mizell was 68.

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (6)

By Larry, July 7, 2011 9:35 am

Washington Smith aka Nat Wright

Listen/Download – Washington Smith – Fat Cat

Listen/Download – Washington Smith – Don’t Take Your Love Away From Me

Greetings all.

The end of an exceptionally long (in spite of the holiday) week is finally at hand, and in commemoration I bring you something exceptionally groovy.

But first (always with the “but first”…) I should remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show, your source for all things soul and funk, will once again be taking to the airwaves this Friday night at 9PM over at Viva Radio. As always, I promise you an hour of the best groovy gravy pulled from the catacombs of the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault, so fall by and glue your ears to the interwebs, or stop here at the blog over the weekend to pick up the MP3 version of the show.

A little while back, Oscar winning songwriter Joe Brooks took his own life in the midst of a very dark scandal.
Known mainly for writing the 70s uber-schmaltz of ‘You Light Up My Life’, Brooks also had a little known and incredibly cool chapter in his past.

As covered here back in 2008, Brooks was the man behind one of the great breakbeat funk 45s of all time, ‘Yo Yo’ by Richard’s People.

Thanks in large part to the mighty Matt ‘Mr Finewine’ Weingarden, who provided some crucial information I was able to get to the bottom (or as close as possible) of the story.

When Brooks passed, Finewine made a Facebook post about it, first including a clip of ‘Yo Yo’, then a record I had never heard before, by a singer I’d never heard of named Washington Smith.

As soon as I hit the play button I was blown away, and even more so when I realized that the song in question ‘Fat Cat’ was another Brooks composition, and in this case (co) production.

What it also was/is, is as smoking a slice of Mod soul as you’re ever likely to hear.

Opening with a vaguely Beatle-y bass/guitar riff, the tune zips from zero to sixty in no time at all, with Smith (wait, there’s more on old ‘Washington’) blazing in with a Jackie Wilson-esque vocal, backed by a girl chorus and a pounding piano.

Things get kicked up to another level when a wild harmonica solo comes in. Though not always a welcome addition to a soul record, the harp gives ‘Fat Cat’ a hot R&B edge that makes for absolute, soulful perfection.

Interestingly, ‘Washington Smith’ appears to have been a nom de wax for a cat named Nat Wright, who also recorded under the pseudonym ‘Nat Love’. As Wright he recorded jazz, soul and R&B vocals, as Washington Smith and Nat Love soul and R&B, and then later on in his life, jazz again as Tony Moore. Wright also performed on Broadway in the 1950s.

There are clips on YouTube of some of his other efforts (soul and jazz)  as Nat Wright.

The flip side of this 45 (which was originally issued on the Rainbow label, then picked up for national distribution by Okeh in 1967) is an excellent, Walter Jackson-esque ballad called ‘Don’t Take Your Love Away From Me’ (also written by Brooks) which had a great deal of potential in its own right.

That said, ‘Fat Cat’ is a gasser of the first order and will be traveling with me (in yon record box) the next time I spin the 45s.

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, June 23, 2011 11:31 am

Too much popcorn…

Listen/Download – The Rivingtons – Pop Your Corn Pt1

Listen/Download – The Rivingtons – Pop Your Corn Pt2

Greetings all.

I’m going to try to make this short and sweet (like I always say, and almost never do…)

I’m trying to get this week finished up and next week’s stuff all prepped and swinging, since the Funky16Corners fam is going to try to slip some vacay into the shed-jool and my days of dragging my laptop with me on the road resulted in a lot of web surfing when I should oughtta be having real fun, so I won’t be doing that.

I am planning on a mix to keep your ears happy while I’m off the grid, so stay tuned for that.

The Funky16Corners Radio Show will be dropping this (and next, and the one after that, and so on) Friday night at 9PM at Viva Radio. It’ll be quite groovy, so strap yourselves in with a cold beverage and the snack food of your choice and let your ears fill up with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove. It will of course be archived and ready for download over the weekend, right-cheer at the old blog.

The tune I bring you today is another one of those cool, late career revivifications wherein an artist best known for their work in an earlier era gets back on the horse and drops something of a more contemporary (at least at the time) nature that allows those of us who follow such things to reconsider their place in the musical landscape.

The group in question is the Rivingtons, and the tune is ‘Pop Your Corn Pts 1&2’.

The Rivingtons, who’s members had been recording in other groups since the very early 50s, released their first and best remembered record, ‘Papa Oom Mow Mow’ in 1962. It was a minor hit, and followed the next year by another one called ‘The Bird Is the Word’, which, when stolen and stitched together by a group of Minnesotans called the Trashmen the year after that, became a much bigger hit by the name of ‘Surfin’ Bird’, after which the members of the Rivingtons hired a lawyer and took the Trashmen to court, where they successfully sued for redress of griveances.

That said, though the Rivingtons recorded fairly steadily through the 60s for labels like Liberty, Reprise, Vee Jay and Columbia, they weren’t meeting with much success.

The record I bring you today was the last thing they recorded in the 1960s, and sees them glomming onto the Popcorn wave on 1969.

There are countless dance crazes through the 60s that inspired a lot of records (i.e. the Popeye, the Twist etc) but few of them took off like the Popcorn. Not only were there a grip of Popcorn 45s in 1969, but for a while James Brown turned the dance into something of a cottage industry (see Funky16Corners Radio v.14 Butter Your Popcorn).

The Rivingtons of ‘Papa Oom Mow Mow’ are not entirely absent on ‘Pop Your Corn’ (dig the bass vocals) but the buttery flavor is much funkier than they were known for, with some tight, snappy, break-y drums, a guitar riff lifted directly from the JB ‘Popcorn’ and some wailing soul vocals.

Make sure you listen to both parts of this one, since the drums get a little bit heavier in Pt2.

It’s cool one and I hope you dig it.

See you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, June 16, 2011 10:19 am

Mr Don Covay

Listen/Download – Don Covay – Money (That’s What I Want)

Greetings all.

I was going to do a post about the late Ray Bryant today, but I’m postponing it until next week (It’ll be worth the wait).

I know that it’s all just a part of the vast randomness of the universe, but it always seems to me that these soul, funk and jazz cats fall in rapid succession, as if they were all sitting waiting for the bus to the great beyond and got on at the same time.

The really sad thing is that what we are ultimately dealing with is the natural movement of the classic generation of soul and funk performers (precious few of the earlier generation of jazz and R&B performers are still with us) into their later years.

That said, we’ll just keep on keeping on, paying tribute to the known and the unknown so that the sounds they made are not forgotten.

I should also remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves of the interwebs this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. It’s the perfect soundtrack for your summer, with all kinds of groovy funk, soul, jazz and rare groove with which to enjoy the icy cocktail of your choosing.

The tune I bring you today is some solid, ass-kicking funk from an artist whose songs are (sadly) better known than he is.

I first heard Don Covay’s version of ‘Money’ a few years back while spinning alongside M-Fasis and DJ Bluewater at the late, lamented Master Groove in NYC. As soon as the needle hit the record my ears perked up and started vibrating and I was all ‘What the hell is that?” followed immediately with “Where Can I Get Me One?”

It was a long time before I finally found a copy, and as is often the case, because I was patient the gods of vinyl brought me my very own copy for the cost of one crumpled, green dollar.

Now if the only thing Don Covay ever did in his life and career was to write and record ‘Sookie Sookie’ – one of the ur documents of funk and soul, a record so mighty as to be imprinted in the DNA of any human to ever dirty their fingers pawing through vinyl or stomp upon a soulful dance floor – he’d deserve eternal fame, but he’s also the dude that laid down ‘Mercy Mercy’, ‘See Saw’ and ‘Chain of Fools’ sang with the Soul Clan and much much more.

This record, the one right here, this is the shit.

The opening alone, in which Don appears to have a snootful of rocket sauce and manages to momentarily out-James Brown the Godfather, is a mindbender, but then he and his band set themselves on fire and it’s almost a full minute before you realize that this funky tornado is in fact a cover of the old Barrett Strong chestnut.

Like the young George Foreman, this record is heavy, yet also fast and dangerous and ought to have a place in the traveling record box of anyone who brings the funk to the people.

Dig it you must.

See you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (5)

By Larry, June 2, 2011 10:00 am

Listen/Download – Melting Pot – Kool and the Gang

Greetings all.

I got a shitstackof stuff on the agenda today, so I’m going to make this as short and sweet as possible.

First, a word from our sponsor, i.e. me, in the way of a reminder about the Funky16Corners Radio Show which hits the air this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. It is always a very groovy scene and if you dig the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove – all on vinyl – you should fall by.

Also, the 2011 Funky16Corners Pledge Drive begins this coming Monday 6/6, with a grip of outstanding new mixes from some of my (and your) favorite selectors. There’s gonna be funk, soul (Northern and othern), disco, rock steady and much more for you to pull down the ones and zeros while you toss a couple of buck into the till to help pay for the yearly upkeep of this massive undertaking.

That said, let’s get the weekend started with some hard charging funk.

Today’s selection is right, tight and outta sight, with the wocka-wocka guitar, the organ and naturally the crazy horn section going buckwild.

The band in question is one of the many funky rock groups that seemed to be popping up everywhere like mushrooms in the late 60s and early 70s, in this case going by the name Melting Pot.

I don’t know for sure where they hailed from, but since they were part of Phil Walden’s stable, my first guess would be somewhere in Georgia or the surrounding area.

They recorded at least one LP and a pair of 45s for the short-lived Ampex label in 1970 and 1971, and today’s selection is especially interesting because of its provenance.

If you hadn’t already figured it out (perhaps having had the initial diggers reaction to this 45, i.e. ‘I did not know Kool and the Gang covered ‘Melting Pot’…) , the song ‘Kool and the Gang’ is in fact a cover of the song of the same name by the band of the same name, that of course also being the funkiest of all New jersey bands, the mighty Kool and the Gang.

The original recording of ‘Kool and the Gang’ was a minor hit during the summer of 1969, which is probably where Melting Pot picked it up. Melting Pot lay the cover down at about twice the speed of the original.

I haven’t heard any of their vocal tracks, but descriptions I’ve read seem to indicate that Melting Pot were operating in a Blood Sweat and Tears-y vein.

That said, this is most definitely a burner, the perfect accompaniment for the blazing hot weather we’re dealing with all of a sudden.

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, May 26, 2011 10:16 am

Artists conception of El Pajarito

Listen/Download – Cecil Davis ‘El Pajarito’ con su Super Orquesta – Let’s Have a Ball

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here and I don’t know about you kids but I am currently being overtaken by the need to cut loose.
This has been an exceptionally long and tiring week and I – for one – have had just about enough.

I can’t say for sure, but I may very well open and consume a beer (or two) this weekend.

Look out world.

That said, part of the busy-ness has been preparations for this years Funky16Corners Pledge Drive.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, once a year, right around the beginning of June, I make like Oliver Twist and come before you with hands outstretched so that your generous donations might help to pay for server space and related costs for the year.

This time out I’m planning on repeating last years ‘Allnighter’ concept, with a selection of hot mixes from yours truly and a variety of some of the finest selectors I know. I already have some of these cooling on the server, and others are on their way.

I can assure you that it will be a good time, so stay tuned. If things go as planned and all the required materials show up things will get rolling on June 5th.

In other news, this week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show is upon us and will be gracing the airwaves of the interwebs this (and every) Friday night at 9PM over at Viva Radio, with the MP3 version of the show being posted the following day.

It’s a hot one this week, so don’t miss it.

I should also mention that I am – thanks to a generous (and early) Father’s Day gift – now the owner of a PA system, rendering the Funky16Corners Sound System 100% mobile, so if you’re having a shindig (wedding, stein hoist, bacchanal, etc) and wish to hire someone for the expert spinning of the best in vintage funk and soul, drop me a line, because, to paraphrase Richard Berry, ‘Have Records, Will Travel’.

That said, now on to the aforementioned cutting loose.

It was a few years back that the mighty Soulmarcosa mentioned a record on a message board we both frequent that sounded quite interesting.

The tune in question ‘Let’s Have a Ball’ by Cecil Davis ‘El Pajarito’ con su Super Orquesta was available on eBay, in quantity at a very low price. Having complete faith in his taste, I grabbed myself a copy of the record (unheard).

When it fell through the mail slot my suspicions were confirmed, and it was indeed a serious gas.

Time and experience have proven that you cannot always take a record label at its word, with many things labeled ‘funky’ that are not, and so on through all genres.

‘Let’s Have a Ball’ – labeled a ‘boogaloo’ – is that rare record that meets, and exceeds all claims on the label.

It is a certified party starter, filled with latin soul goodness, made all the better by an exceedingly enthusiastic performance by Mr Davis, who comes across like someone threw Christopher Walken’s ‘The Continental’, Mr Mambo,  and Fred Armisen’s El Fericito (‘Ay Dios Mio!’) into a blender with a gallon of Puerto Rican rum and a box of firecrackers.

The band cooks on this one, but it’s ‘El Pajarito’ who really makes it, trading lines with a chorus of ladies, pumping out a series of sampleable lines like ‘Sock It To Me Baby!’,‘Shall we do the boogaloo?’ and ‘Tighten up baby! Shall we have the balllllll????’ but the best part is where the background singers break into a sideline cheer, including what sounds like a heavily accented ‘sis boom bah!’.

Crazy stuff.

Even crazier is how obscure a record this hot still is.

As far as I can tell, the Dial that this record was released on bears no relation whatsoever to the jazz and soul label of the same name, and Mr Davis has proven to be all but un-Googleable. There was apparently an R&B singer by that name in the Midwest, but the vocal on this one suggests to me that he is not the same cat, since ‘our’ Cecil has a very thick accent (though that could be a put-on).

Other than that, just about all that shows up on-line is listings for people selling the 45, and there aren’t even many of those (it’s price has gone up quite a bit).

I have inquired of those who are deeper in the boogaloo game than myself, and haven’t come up with anything there either.

All I can say for certain about Cecil Davis ‘El Pajarito’ and his Super Orquesta, is that they created one hell of a great record.

I hope you dig it as much as I do, and I’ll see you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, May 12, 2011 3:27 pm

Charles Mann

Listen/Download – Charles Mann – Do It Again

Greetings all, and welcome to the end of the week.

All is well – relatively speaking – with nothing overtly positive to report, but nothing horrifying either, so I’ll just remain tied to the mast and hope the boat stays on course.

This is of course the part of the week where I remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show is about due for its weekly eruption over at Viva Radio, with all of the groovy sounds you have – as a connoisseur of the finer things in soul – become accustomed to. Friday night at 9PM is the time, followed over the weekend by the appearance of the MP3 version thereof over at the blog, where you can pull down the ones and zeros at your leisure.

The number I bring you today is another very groovy cover version (making it a clean sweep this week) of one of my all time favorite groups, that being Steely Dan.

The song in question is their 1972 hit ‘Do It Again’, and the covering artiste is Charles Mann.

I first heard this take on the song via a forum post on the interwebs, and as a huge fan of the Dan, and of interesting cover versions in general, I set out to find a copy of my own.

I’d never heard of Charles Mann before, and I have to admit that despite some searching I still don’t know much.

He recorded his version of ‘Do It Again’ in 1973 for the ABC label with a collection of Philly all-stars, including Bobby Eli (under an alias), Norman Harris, Earl Young, Ronnie Baker and Vince Montana (pretty much the heart of the MFSB crew), with background vocal support from Bunny Sigler (among others).

Tracking down information on Mann proved difficult because there’s a prominent swamp pop singer of the same name (who happens to be white), and because it would appear that aside from this album for ABC and some disco 12”s for the LA label, the soulful Mr Mann didn’t leave much of a trail.

His cover of ‘Do It Again’ ramps up the tempo and fleshes out the arrangement considerably) with the Philly heads adding a healthy dose of danceability to the song. The intro is ripe for sampling/looping and Mann’s vocal is excellent.

The record has that great, Philly-based pre-disco funk vibe, and the guitar work (there are two great solos, one with fuzz and one without) is superb.

Mann recorded three 45s for ABC, and oddly enough ‘Do It Again’ doesn’t appear to have had a domestic release on 45 (though it did come out in Europe). It is possible that since Steely Dan was also on ABC, the label didn’t want to have competing versions on the singles charts.

It’s also unusual because there aren’t a lot of vocal covers of Steely Dan material out there, though I’ve found a number of instrumental versions of their material (by Woody Herman who did a whole album of it, and Herbie Mann). If you’re game to hear something unusual, check out the cover by Waylon Jennings.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 28, 2011 12:01 pm

King Curtis

Listen/Download – King Curtis – Pop Corn Willy
Listen/Download – King Curtis – Patty Cake (Valdez In the Country)

Greetings all.

I hope the end of the week finds you all robust, rosy cheeked and filled to the gills with soul.

I am – as usual – up to my substantial ass in alligators, with an exceptionally busy vacation followed immediately with an equally jam packed week.

I will save my recap of my DJ gigs in Massachusetts (which were a gas) for next week, but I did want to fill out this week’s posting with a very recent acquisition, that has (and this should come as no surprise) an interesting story attached to it.

The first part of our family vacation was occupied with an ongoing, very important errand, and as a result, when an opportunity opened up to do a little on-the-road 45 digging, I was both surprised and very pleased.

I hit a spot in upstate NY, that has – like many record stores that I haunt on the reg – seemed like a case of diminishing returns, i.e., the more I go back, the less there is to look through.

This time out was a different story, and by the time I had worked my way through the soul and funk section I had built up a nice stack of 45s to peruse, including some new (to me) stuff, one longtime want list item, 45 versions of things I previously had only on LP, as well as a couple of nice items for the trade box.

Among the new things was a King Curtis 45 with two tracks that were both previously unknown to me.

The one that caught my eye was ‘Pop Corn Willy’, which seemed – thanks to the mention of the funky snack food in the title – to be part and parcel of the 1969 dance craze.

Once I got it to the listening station, my suspicions were confirmed. It was extremely funky, and fast moving, and I gave it a spin when I took to the decks in Northampton, MA.

‘Pop Corn Willy’ is one of those cheap 45s that would likely be worth a nice chunk of change if it were rarer.

I gave the other side a brief needle drop, but since it didn’t grab me right away, I didn’t give it much thought.

When we finally returned home, and I got all my ducks in a row – including the acquisition of a brand new DJ coffin (not something you bury a DJ in, but rather a road case for two turntables and a mixer) – I sat down to digimatize the new records so that I might include them in next week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show (which by the way will air, on schedule, this Friday evening at 9PM on Viva Radio), I decided to give the King Curtis flipside a closer listen, and it’s a good thing I did too.

When I put the needle on the record, the song coming out of the speakers was pleasant enough, but after about 20 seconds it started to sound oddly familiar, and by the time the chorus rolled around I realized that although the song was titled ‘Patty Cake’, what I was actually hearing was a version of one of my favorite Donny Hathaway tunes, ‘Valdez In the Country’.

I’d first heard the song in a cover by the Soulful Strings, then by Hathaway himself, and eventually in a smoking version by Cold Blood.

The thing that bugged me though, was why it had been recorded by Mr Ousley under a different title.

As it turns out, this may very well have been the initial waxing of this composition. Hathaway himself (credited here, oddly as ‘Don Hathaway’) wouldn’t record it until 1973 on his ‘Extensions of a Man’ LP, after the Soulful Strings, Cold Blood, Nite Liters and Black Sugar (it would later be covered by George Benson).

As it turns out, the keyboardist on this session (recorded in August of 1969) was none other than Hathaway himself*, which would explain where King Curtis got his hands on the song. I don’t know for sure, but it’s possible that Curtis changed the title (the song would only appear on a non-LP 45) in an effort to keep it simple for the juke boxes and the dance floor. It’s also possible that it had yet to take on the ‘Valdez…’ title (I’ve never been able to discover the origin or significance of the title), though the Soulful Strings version, also recorded in 1969 carried the longer title.

That all said, it’s a great song (one of my favorite instrumentals), and I hope you dig it.

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

Peace

Larry

*Interestingly, Hathaway also plays on (as well as produced and arranged) the Cold Blood version, and may very well have had something to do with the Soulful Strings version as well. He was clearly proud of the composition and did a lot to get it out there.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, April 17, 2011 11:56 am

Lots more where that came from…

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Get It (Come and Get It) 118MB/256K Mixed MP3

Laura Lee – I Need It As Bad As You (Invictus)
Gene West – In the Ghetto (Original Sound)
Marva Whitney – This Girl’s In Love With You (King)
Kenny Smith – Go For Yourself (RCA)
Ohio Players – Find Someone To Love (Capitol)
Common Pleas – The Funky Judge (Crimson)
Eddie Bo and Inez Cheatham – Lover and a Friend (Capitol)
Jesse Hill – Mardi Gras (Pulsar)
Gunga Din – Crab Cakes (Valise)
Billy LaMont – Sweet Thing (20th Cent Fox)
Young Holt Unltd – Who’s Making Love (Brunswick)
Winfield Parker – Starvin (Spring)
James Brown – There Was a Time (King)
Senor Soul – Don’t Lay Your Funky Trip On Me (Whiz)
Howlin’ Wolf – Pop It To Me (Chess)
Wayne Logiudice – Ow Boogaloo (Philips)
Jay Dee Bryant – Get It (Come and Get It) (Enjoy)
Gene Dozier and the Brotherhood – Testify (Minit)
Jo Armstead – I’ve Been Turned On (Giant)
Syl Johnson – Dresses Too Short (Twinight)
Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl (Kent)
Bobby Byrd – I Know You Got Soul (King)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling (Fairmount)
Lavell Hardy – Don’t Lose Your Groove (Rojac)

Greetings all.

I have to get things started by letting you know what an absolute, stone gas my stint at the Subway Soul Club was this past Saturday night.

I’ve gone on in this space many times about how spinning soul music is a blast, but doing it for a room full of enthusiastic dancers really takes things to the next level. Despite the fact that we were in the midst of an impromptu monsoon (which made motoring out to Brooklyn a major undertaking) the room at Public Assembly filled up fast and quicker than you can say Wigan Casino the dance floor was slamming.

Both Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Lady Dawn were spectacular hosts, and the other guest DJs, Miss Evon and PJ Lozito (Connie T Empress had to bow out due to the inclement weather) both brought the heat and things were cooking for several hours straight.

I had an amazing time, got to spin the Northern Soul I love so much and got lots of great feedback from the crowd.

I managed to get most of my sets recorded, so sometime next week I’ll post at least one of them, as well as some pics from the night.

Subway Soul Club will return in May, and will then be taking the summer off, so if you’re close enough to make the scene, you should do so.

Now, welcome to Funky16Corners Spring Break!

No bikini girls or beer bongs, just an hour of funk 45s to hold you all until I return to the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Blogcasting Nerve Center.

As mentioned previously, the fam and I will be vacating for a few days, at the end of which I will be spinning funk and soul 45s for two nights in western Massachusetts.

Friday 4/22 I’ll be joining DJ Andujar and Studebaker Hawk for Sweet Exorcist @ the People’s Pint in Greenfield, MA. I’ll be bringing funk, latin and maybe even some reggae to help keep things hot.

The following night, Saturday 4/23, I’ll be joining DJ Cashman and Snack Attack at Wooly Bully @ the Basement in Northampton, MA for funk and soul on 45. I might bring a little Northern Soul with me this time.

If you’re in the area it would be very cool if you could drop by. I hear on very good authority that these are both smoking parties, and I will be packing nothing but heat in the record box, so a good time is guaranteed for all.

That said, what I bring you today is the first set from my latest appearance at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC. This time out I spun all manner of funk and funky soul. I recorded the whole night, but the second set had some crossover with the last sets I posted, and the tonearm got jostled in the third set, so I’ll just file those away in the archive for a later date.
There are a fair number of classics, plus a grip of stuff that I haven’t played out in years, so hopefully you’ll all be able to find something grooveworthy within.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio this Friday night at 9PM. It’s the one year anniversary of the transformation from a glorified playlist into something that sounds like a radio show and it’s packed with good stuff.
The episode may not get posted at the blog until I get home, but there are close to 50 episodes archived there already, so lots to listen to.

Dig it all, and I’ll be back next week with tales of my travels, some new live sets recorded for the blog (hopefully) and maybe even some new records.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, April 14, 2011 10:30 am

The Spellbinders

Listen/Download – Spellbinders – Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again)

Greetings all.

The end of what turned out to be a spectacularly busy week (the kind where I had to start writing things down so as not to forget to do them) has finally arrived. While I’m bushed, I’m also all revved up because this Saturday night I’ll be spinning at the Subway Soul Club.

This is going to be an especially groovy night for a few different reasons.

First and foremost, I hear that the crowd at Subway Soul likes to get out on the floor and dance, and I dig nothing more than spinning soul 45s for dancers.

Second, I’ll be spinning alongside two legendary NY area selectors, those being my old Asbury Park 45 Sessions cohort the mighty Connie T Empress, and Subway Soul resident, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus.

If the names above don’t signify the presence of the hottest soul records available, then you have not been paying attention.
A very solid time is guaranteed for all.

Assuming that I make it home from Brooklyn on Sunday morning, the fam and I will be heading out for some vacation-style action, which will be capped off at the end of the week by two more gigs in western Massachusetts.

Since I’ll be away for the week I’ll be posting a live set from last week’s Spindletop on Monday, along with all the details of next week’s gigs, so stay tuned.

I should also mention that this Friday at 9PM the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the crackling airwaves of the intertubes for another session of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on vinyl. Make sure you stop by Viva Radio, or fall by the blog on Saturday to pick up the MP3 version of the show.

The tune I bring you today is most definitely going to be making the trip up to Brooklyn with me on Saturday.

My acquisition of the Spellbinders ‘Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again)’ is yet another one of those twisted tales that winds its way back to the big mountain of 45s that came into my life lo these many years ago.

I’ve gone on about it many times, so I’ll keep it short. My father-in-law, while out scouting for antiques happened upon a huge stash of 45s, called and asked if I wanted them (naturally I said yes) and then brought them down to our house.

When they got here I was stunned by the sheer quantity (several thousand), and my wife and I spent the better part of a summer going through them, pulling out the stuff I knew was good, culling the stuff I knew was bad, and trying to figure out the difference on everything else.

Thanks to the huge amount of records, this proved to be an inexact science, and in addition to several boxes of the good stuff, I ended up with a couple of hundred things that at least looked interesting (or too interesting to throw out) and I’ve been picking at those ever since.

Every once in a while, when I have a little time on my hands I head back into those boxes, and recently such a trip resulted in one of the great ‘how the hell did I miss this?’ moments.

I must have given the Spellbinders 45 a spin at some point (since I had it filed as ‘soul’) but I suspect that I only listened to the other side (‘Danny Boy’), since it did not make a significant impression on me, which, had I listened to today’s selection, would not have been the case (am I making any sense here?).

That said, when I did drop the needle on ‘Help Me (Get Myself back Together Again)’ I was immediately drawn in by the wonderful intro, with the bass, vibes and percussion, followed immediately by the drums bringing in the pounding four on the floor beat. The rest of the record is pure Northern Soul genius, combining a great song, stellar arrangement and production (by Van McCoy) and fantastic vocals by the group.

What little I’ve been able to find out about the Spellbinders is that they were only together for a few years, recording a handful of 45s and an LP for Columbia (and one 45 for Date), with ‘Help Me…’ being issued as a non-LP 45 in 1966.

The group also had New Jersey roots, which is always a cool thing (for me) to find out.

I’m just thankful now that this 45 didn’t languish for another few years, or get sucked back into the vinyl maelstrom forever.

If you come out to Subway Soul, stop by the booth and say hi.

Have a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, April 7, 2011 9:35 am

Bo Diddley by Mat Vullo

Listen/Download – Bo Diddley – I Can Tell

Greetings all.

The end of the week is finally here, and I hope you’ve all gotten good and oiled up with this week’s mix as your soundtrack.

The track I bring you today ought to put a nice cap on the whole deal, but first some news you can use.

This Friday night – just like every Friday night – sees the return of the mighty Funky16Corners Radio Show, on the equally mighty Viva Radio. This is the thang where you get to sit down with me (or at least the dulcet tones of my voice) and some of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for an hour of sheer, unadulterated musical pleasure. If you can’t be there during the broadcast, you can always fall by over the weekend and pick yourself up an MP3 of the show, or several dozen past shows to stuff into your iPod.

Also, I will be returning to Spindletop @ Botanica (47 E Houston St, NYC) this coming Monday (4/11) to join my man Perry Lane for some more of that good, vinyl-based groove grease. This will be the first gig of an unusually busy month for yours truly, and I’ll be bringing along a pile of new arrivals/discoveries, so if you’re in the area, and feel like a frosty beverage and some hot music, join us.

You should also pop on over to Fleamarket Funk, where my man DJ Prestige has undertaken a redesign, as well as added a new feature called ‘Big Ups’, in which yours truly has been featured. Make sure you stop by to take a look.

I’ll assume that as soon as this page loaded in your browser, the first thing you noticed was the exceedingly groovy illustration of our friend Mr. McDaniels by Mat Vullo.

Mat and I have been Facebook pals for a long time, he an admirer of the Funky16Corners Blog, and I digging his groovy illustrations. We put our heads together and settled on an illo for a Bo Diddley feature, but you really need to go by his site and check out his other stuff. If you dig the sounds herein, you will most certainly dig the visuals over there.
Many thanks to Mat.

That all said, the tune I bring you today is yet another Asbury Lanes Garage Sale find. It was one of those ‘I’ve spent most of my dough and I’m on my way out the door and I think I’ll paw through one last box before I split’ things, and good thing too since I dig me some Bo Diddley and don’t have all that much of his original vinyl in the crates.

He was one of the true elemental forces of the Chess/Checker Chitown arsenal, alongside Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and Chuck Berry (and many others, but those are the stony visages on that particular Mt Rushmore).

The cool thing is, though Bo has shared roots with some of his labelmates, in many ways he is the very definition of sui generis, straddling the worlds of the electric blues and rock’n’roll, existing on a stylistic island all his own. This is not to say that he did not at times record what might be seen as conventional blues or rock, but rather that at his best, with tunes like the eponymous ‘Bo Diddley’, he created something without equal.

One need only look at his impact on the British Invasion (and all that flowed from it) to realize that that darkness you sensed was actually his titanic shadow draped over the whole thing. London in 1963 was almost like Jackson Pollock had dipped his brushes in a huge vat of Bo Diddley and splattered it every which way. The Kinks, Pretty Things (named for a Bo song with no less than four of his tunes on their first album), Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, Rolling Stones, Yardbirds and many others, all quaking in their pointy boots from the reverberato shock wave started by Bo Diddley’s massive stomp and rightly so because even though this lot liked to pay tribute to Messrs Morganfield, Burnett, Reed et al, nobody smacked them in the gob like Bo Diddley, because where all of the others were deep and menacing, Bo Diddley was also fun in his own, oblong, horn-rimmed, wobble-legged way.

Bo was the shit, and the tune I bring you today (which I first heard by the aforementioned Pirates, who lay it down with a rockabilly twang which is also cool since Bo’s version has a little country in it) is just another bit of evidence in that case.

‘I Can Tell’ is Bo’s rough-edged lament at a love cast aside, packed end to end with his ringing guitar, Jerome’s maraccas, and someone pumping a bass guitar con brio.

The fact that he manages to namecheck no less a light than Charlie Brown – the greatest sack of sad that the world has ever known – as the guy that elbowed in on his action speaks volumes.

You can just see his eyes rolling back into his head when he finally loses his shit and shouts ‘I Can Tell You Don’t Love Me No More!!!’

Heavy, heavy stuff, and if someone doesn’t get their shit together and erect a huge statue in his image soon…well…I don’t know what I’ll do but it ain’t gonna be nice.

That said, have a lovely weekend and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, March 31, 2011 10:45 am

Oh, yes…

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop A-Go-Go 71MB/256K Mixed MP3

Brothers Two – Boogaloo Soul Party (Crimson)
Roy Lee Johnson – Boogaloo #3 (Josie)
Barbara Lynn – Club A Go Go (Tribe)
Norman T Washington – Jumping Jack Flash (Pama)
Eyes of Blue – Heart Trouble (Deram)
Lil Bob and the Lollipops – I Got Loaded (La Louisianne)
Wayne Cochran – Goin’ back to Miami (Mercury)
Chet Poison Ivey and His Fabulous Avengers – Shake a Poo Poo (TRC)
Willie Tell and the Overtures – Soul Ranger (Chess)
Interpretations – Snap Out (Bell)
Syl Johnson – Different Strokes (Twilight)
Mad Men – African Twist Pt1 (Gamble)
Sir Lattimore Brown – Shake and Vibrate (SS7)
Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1 (Fat Back)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Shotgun Man (Smash)
Jeanne & the Darlings – Soul Girl (Volt)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and as is almost always the case, so is the end of my patience/energy.

This has been a very busy week, blog-o-rifically and lifewise, and sometimes it seems that the challenges just keep on coming, like lining up outside my door like I’m handing out hundred dollar bills and grilled cheese sandwiches, and then going around the back so they can get in line again to kick me in the ass.

Not everything is bad, since it looks like April is going to be a very busy month DJ-wise, but as always, it’s just a matter of getting all of my psychotic ducks in a row.

When I get all the gig details ironed out, I will make announcements in this space.

That said, it’s time again to remind you all that if you are not otherwise occupied Friday night at 9PM, you should roll on up to the intertubes and grab you some Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. I always endeavor to bring you the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all culled from vinyl, all engineered for your listening pleasure. If you can’t be there at broadcast time, you can always pick up the shows in MP3 form over the weekend here at the blog.

As promised, I’m posting the second live set from last week’s Spindletop @ Botanica. This time you get more of the partying grooves, including one of my faves by an artist who was taken from us unexpectedly last week, the mighty Sir Lattimore Brown.

There’s all kinds of groovy stuff in the mix, all good’n’greasy enough to get the laziest SOB up off their butt and out onto the floor.

Speaking of getting out on the floor, I’ve been hard (and I do mean hard) at work this week cooking up a very tasty mix that will most definitely loosen up your wig and heat up your shorts. I will be dropping it on Monday, so make sure you have lots of ice, potato chips and several varieties of potent spirits, ‘cuz you’re going to need them.

That said, enjoy the sounds, have yourself a groovy weekend and I’ll be back on Monday with more of the stuff you love.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.