Comments (8)

By Larry, August 29, 2010 3:22 pm

Ray Barretto

Listen/Download – Ray Barretto – A Deeper Shade of Soul

Greetings all.

I hope everything’s groovy at your specific GPS location, and anywhere else you choose to roam.

Summer is winding down, slowly, and while the weather is still warm (some might say hot) the days of summery freedom are also coming to an end, with the wife and kids headed back to school, and the rhythm of life changing once again.

To present a brief ‘state of the Corners’ address, things are mainly cool hereabouts. The Funky16Corners Radio Show has developed into something more satisfying (at least for me, hopefully for you all too) over the summer, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.

The DJing opportunities around here have, for a variety of reasons (some that I am not privy to), all but vanished, but I will be heading down to DC again toward the end of September to spin with my man DJ Birdman (more details to follow soon), so hopefully I’ll be able to touch base with some of the Capitol City heads who have always been so cool.

Other than that, things should continue on a steady course, with new mixes (regular old Funky16Corners and Soul Club) coming, as well as a steady stream of funk, soul, jazz and rare groove to soothe your troubled mind (and mine too, if I’m lucky).

The tune I bring you today is something I came to in a roundabout way.

The first time I had any inkling of Ray Barretto’s ‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ was back in 1989, when I heard it sampled by the Dutch group Urban Dance Squad in their song of the same name. Of course even though I knew it was probably a sample, I had no idea who it was, and pretty much left it at that.

Flash forward a few years and my buddy Haim lends me the CD reissue of  Barretto’s 1968 ‘Acid’ album, and I’m listening to it (wishing I had an OG) and all of a sudden ‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ comes pouring into my ears and I’m all WTF?!? and the lightbulb goes on over my head, and then (of course) blows up.

Now these many years later, and I’m all hip to Ray Barretto and all of that good mid-to-late 60s Latin soul and funk, and while I had a couple of his 45s and LPs, an OG of ‘Acid’ (possibly THE essential Latin soul LP) had still eluded me.

Well, another one of those Asbury Lanes garage sales rolled around, and it was a particularly rewarding one, and I’ve just about run my way through all my ready cash, and then some dude I’ve never seen before sets up a table full of LPs, and before I know it me and about a half dozen other heads are pulling all kinds of OG Latin LPs out of his crates. As I mentioned, I was just about tapped out, and when I discovered that these LPs (while affordable) were not cheap I had to put back a couple of very nice things, including an OG Lat-Teens LP, but I walked away with a nice, clean copy of ‘Acid’.

While I still dig the Urban Dance Squad tune (it has a kind of stoney groove that I like) there’s just no comparison with Barretto’s original.

‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ is an absolutely perfect slice of soulful boogaloo, with prominent piano, percussion (natch…) and a horn chart that digs into ‘Knock On Wood’ for inspiration. The arrangements were handled by none other than Harvey Averne, so you know it’s good.

‘Acid’ was Barretto’s first LP for Fania, following his earlier chart success (on labels like Tico and UA) with tunes like 1963’s ‘El Watusi’.

If you haven’t heard ‘Acid’ (which also includes ‘Soul Drummers’, ‘Mercy Mercy Baby’, and ‘Teacher of Love’ among others) you should grab yourself a reissue (or an OG if you can find it) since it’s a great album from start to finish.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back in the middle of the week.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a cool Nilsson cover.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 19, 2010 6:44 pm

Ivan Joseph Jones aka Boogaloo Joe

Listen/Download – Boogaloo Joe Jones – Right On

Greetings all.
I hope everyone has had themselves a nice Funky16Corners Radio kind of week, filled with the dulcet, flute-y tones of this weeks mix.

I was going to double down on the flute-stravaganza and post a funky flute 45, but I couldn’t find the label pic, so it’ll have to keep.

Instead, may I request that you all get your hot pants on and your get-down shoes zipped up, because the track I’m going to whip on you today requires both.

I don’t suspect that those among you not enrolled in the crate digging or jazz collecting fraternities know the name Ivan ‘Boogaloo Joe’ Jones (how could you forget a name like that if you had?) but once you pull down the ones and zeroes on this one you shant soon forget it.

One might assume that he attached the ‘Boogaloo’ to his extremely common name merely to separate himself from the drummers Papa Jo and Philly Joe (both prominent Joneses) and that’s probably true to an extent, but if anyone ever deserved to be referred to as ‘Boogaloo’-anything, Ivan Joseph Jones was the man.

‘Right On’, one of my favorite Prestige jazz funk 45s (and they are legion) is as close to an all-star session as you’ll find with these things, plus you get that bad-ass, iconic Prestige blue-label 45 to stare at.

It’d be all groovy gravy if it was just Boogaloo Joe burning it up on the gee-tar, but you also get Charlie Earland on the Hammond, Pretty Purdie socking the shit out of his drums, Rusty Bryant on the sax and Jimmy Lewis on the bass.

And you REALLY have to dig the guitar. Boogaloo Joe winds his way in and out of the rhythm like a Ferrari on a race course.

All star-power aside, ‘Right On’ is an ass-whooper of the first order, with the head nod, and the hip slip, and all the rest of the involuntary anatomical expressions that go along with records that are this funky.

Funky, right, tight and outta sight, with enough chops for the jazzers and enough groove for the dancers, ‘Right On’ is a frequent flier in my DJ box, and though it’s a little on the crackly side (I tried to diminish the sound of sizzling bacon fat  as much as I could), this record is so hot you forget about it pretty quickly, unless you’re some kind of Hi-Fi hobbit nestled in the shire alongside a million dollars worth of audio equipment, in which case this isn’t for you anyway, so go have an herbal tea and come back when you’re feeling funky.

I know you’ll dig it, so do so, and I’ll see you all next week.

Peace

Larry

PS Make sure to hit up the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio Friday night at 9PM. Your ears will thank you.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some hippie rock with a Native American twist.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 12, 2010 11:28 am

Woody Herman

Eumir Deodato

Listen/Download – Woody Herman and the Herd – Fanfare for the Common Man

Listen/Download – Deodato – Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)

Greetings all.
I hope week is coming to a satisfying close for you all.
My wife has to head out for a few days, and the spuds and myself are bumming, but since we plan to wreck the joint while she’s away, there is a (very) minor silver lining.
We’ll just see if three people can survive on corn chips, frankfurters and slurpees for five days.
If you haven’t already pulled down the ones and zeros for this weeks Funky16Corners Soul Club mix by my man Vincent the Soul Chef, do so now, on account of it’s full of the funk, and will – as the kids say – rock your world.
Also, don’t forget to tune in Friday night at 9PM for this week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show over at Viva internet radio. If you are not already hip/hep, you can click on the Radio Show link in the header and check out the fifteen (!?!) weekly shows that have already been mixed down and archived as MP3s for your listening pleasure.
Today’s post is one of those things that kind of fell together organically over the course of a few months, wherein I was holding something in storage, and then something else climbed over the transom and into the to-be-blogged folder that, how do they say, augmented the existing track in the stylistic and theoretical (figurative/symbolic) sense, and so they came together like beer and stout in a black and tan, blended ever so carefully so that once they pass over the lobes and into the brain the desired effect is one of jazzy, funky wonderfulness (and naturally, as is the style here at Funky16Corners, a tremendous run-on sentence).
Not too long ago one of my Friendface pals posted a video of the mighty Woody Herman and his Thundering Herd working it out on Aaron Copland’s 1942 masterpiece of 20th century classical music ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’. I dug the arrangement a LOT, so I went in search of the vinyl equivalent and found another live recording of a slightly later (I think) version of the Herd laying down the same arrangement at Montreaux.
Back in the olden days, when I was a long-haired, drum mangling stoner type, I had a copy of a certain Emerson, Lake and Palmer album that contained their version of the same piece of music. Having been brought up in a house full of classical music, but then stuffing my head with as much contemporary rock as possible, as well as being your standard teenaged rube, I thought that the ELP ‘Fanfare’ was of a deepness theretofore unheard, and blasted it at high volume many, many times until a seriously untrustworthy fellow bandmember (who, if memory serves was also a  pathological liar of singular talent) stole what was then a fairly expensive record (of course everything is expensive when you have no money).
In reflection, especially after hearing Woody Herman lay it down, the ELP version sounds like a meth-infused synthesizer orchestra trapped in an electrified mudslide. The Copland piece is both sublime and inspirational, and to hear it mangled so seems now to be something approaching a high crime.
Interestingly enough, Herman and his band were playing their Gary Anderson arrangement (recorded in 1974) of ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ a few years before ELP got their hands on it, and as you might have already assumed, the touch is considerably lighter, using funky subtlety to finesse the brassy strains of Copland’s piece where ELP drove through it with a steamroller.
In addition to a hot band – Herman, a master of the original big band era made some serious moves in the fusion era, still with a big band – you get to hear the master working it out on the soprano sax.
If you get your hands on a copy of the ‘Herd at Montreux’ album, you also get to hear them play the Richard Evans arrangement of ‘I Can’t Get Next To You’ and a very tasty version of Billy Cobham’s ‘Crosswind’ that I’ll feature here in the future.
The second track featured today is something I’m sure a lot of you will be familiar with since it was a substantial hit in 1972. That tune is Eumir Deodato’s epic arrangement of Richard Strauss’s 1896 ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’. Better known to one and all as the ‘2001’ music, Deodato’s take on the tune is in addition to being probably the biggest hit CTI ever had, a masterpiece of funky jazz.
Featuring Deodato on electric piano, Airto and Ray Barretto on percussion, Billy Cobham on drums, Stanley Clarke on bass and Jay Berliner on guitar, ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ goes on for nine minutes, and I’m here to tell you (though you should be able to hear it yourselves) that it never lags, never slips into fusion-y masturbation, never loses it’s kick.
The piece builds gradually, with a kind of amorphous tune-up, until the drums kick in at around 48 seconds, then the bass, guitar and of course Deodato’s electric piano (the heart and soul of the tune), followed by what has to be about the best known classical horn line in history, following the structure of the original until it settles down into a funky jam at around the two and a half minute mark. You know I love me some Fender Rhodes, and Deodato goes to town here. The coolest thing of all – and I hope you’ll agree – is that for what is basically a nine minute long jazz fusion interpretation of a piece of classical music (shades of Spinal Tap in Jazz Fantasy), ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ never gets cheesy or heavy handed, which is especially notable in an era when cheesy and heavy handed were the coin of the realm.
I hope you dig both of these cuts, and use them to get down with what the hipsters used to call ‘long hair’ music.
I’ll see you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

PS Make sure to hit up the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio Friday night at 9PM. Your ears will thank you.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a tribute to the late Chris Dedrick of Free Design.

Comments (4)

By Larry, July 8, 2010 8:28 pm

Clay Tyson

Listen/Download – Clay Tyson – If You See a Ring Around Your Bathtub (Baby You Know I’ve Left You Clean)

Greetings all.
I hope you’ve all avoided melting in the ungodly heat. I’m still solvent but on the verge of liquefaction should I spend more than my allotted time in the sun. Like my ancestors before me, I am a pale man, with white-blond hair and my love for sunshine is decidedly one-sided. My childhood is filled with repeated, drastic episodes of sunburn, only repeated in adulthood during simultaneous bouts of alcohol consumption (as in ‘Oh come on, a little sun never hurt anyone!’, except – of course – me, who spent the next week clutching a bottle of aloe and praying for death).
I fear that my Irish/Viking genes have been passed on to both of my sons, who look like Casper and any one of the ghostly trio. They cannot head to the beach without shirts, sunscreen and hats lest they burst into flames.
It’s that bad.
There was a very brief window, right after I moved into my first apartment (which was a block from the beach) where I spent time at the beach every day, rationing my time in the sun where I developed something like a mid tan, but decided that the discomfort of sand in my pants outweighed any ‘healthy glow’, so I never tried again.
That said, I sit here now, ensconced in conditioned air, tapping away at yon laptop in an effort to get the blogging done before I nod off.
Before I start, make sure to check out the Funky16Corners Radio Show this Friday night at 9PM EST at Viva internet radio. This week – as in all weeks – what you’ll be hearing is the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, brought to you in living, crackling color, harvested from original vinyl sources and mixed live for your delectation.
You should also fall by the Gentleman’s Guide to Midnite Cinema podcast to dig the filmic discussion, and to sample my inaugural contribution of a weekly, funky track (see episode #89).
Also, stop by Iron Leg where I go on at length in reflection about 25 years of zine (paper and web) production by yours truly.
The tune I bring you today is something I picked up a while back, mainly on the strength of the Identify label. For those of you that aren’t familiar, it was a James Brown-related imprint, and until I found this 45, the only one I’d ever seen in person was the A.A.B.B. 45 ‘Pick Up the Pieces One By One’, featured here many moons ago.
The disc was cheap (probably because of a noticeable edge warp, but since it was so unusual I decided to risk the dough and take it home.
Good thing too, because when I finally got to give it a spin, I realized that what I had was not only funky, but also funny, making it yet another entry in the soulful comedy sweepstakes (wherein I have a bunch of similar sides and ought to get down to making a mix).
The performer was a cat named Clay Tyson, who according to what little I’ve been able to find was a ‘chitlin circuit’ comic who hooked up with the Godfather of Soul and released a couple of 45s; one on King, and the one you see before you today (in addition to a number of other records on other labels).
When I was researching this record I happened upon a previous post over at the mighty Stepfather of Soul blog (and if you are not familiar, you should get…familiar that is) where my man Jason says that the King 45 (which I do not own) is pretty much the same two routines on the Identify disc, redone with different backing tracks.

What you get here with ‘If You See a Ring Around Your Bathtub…’ , is James, jiving alongside Mr. Tyson (with the JB’s I’ll assume) with a tight funk groove. Oddly enough, it’s pretty much like any James Brown record of a similar vintage, only you get a series of so-so jokes (which James seemed to think were HILARIOUS) instead of the HYEEAAHH!s and YOWW!s and whatnot. I’m not suggesting that this is as good as a James Brown or JBs 45 (though in a lot of ways, that’s what it is), but that the funk is right, tight and naturally, out of sight, and since the tune is co-credited to the mighty Fred ‘Trombonicus Rex’ Wesley, you know it’s a quality sound.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for thoughts about 25 years of DIY/zine work by yours truly…

Comments (3)

By Larry, July 1, 2010 8:57 pm

Pete Jolly

Listen/Download – Pete Jolly – Springs

Greetings all.

I hope you’re all good and ready to crash into what promises to be a slamming holiday weekend.
Assuming that the weather holds out the fam and I will be down at the Asbury Park boardwalk for the third year in a row to groove on the fireworks this Sunday.
I’m really starting to feel the summer in a positive way. The humidity has departed (a temporary state of affairs, but you take it where you can get it) and the sun has been shining on a regular basis, so the time is right for some summery sounds.
Before we get rolling I have a couple of pieces of business to take care of. First, beginning with next week’s podcast, yours truly has been asked to contribute a funky track each week to the Gentleman’s Guide To Midnite Cinema podcast, which, if the title wasn’t explanation enough, concerns itself with the world of film, with a concentration on genre flicks. You should fall by their web site and check things out (you can also access the episodes via iTunes).
Second, you should make sure to check out this week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio for more of the good stuff. It runs every Friday night at 9PM EST and is archived here as a downloadable MP3 file the following day.
I featured a track from pianist Pete Jolly’s ‘Seasons’ album in a couple of different Funky16Corners Radio mixes, but the cut I bring you today is, as the kids say, that real shit.
‘Seasons’, recorded in a single 1970 session, and largely improvised in the studio is as close as any album comes to being the perfect, groove oriented electric piano album.
Produced by Herb Alpert and featuring a group that included Paul Humphrey on drums and Milt Holland and Chuck Berghofer on bass, ‘Leaves’ is something of a lost work of genius, and decidedly ahead of its time.
The album is made up of a series of fairly brief cuts, arranged as a concept album of sorts, but unlike so many rock concept albums, weighted down with ponderous lyrics and ‘meaning’, ‘Seasons’ is entirely instrumental, which means all the concept you’re forced to deal with is in the form of a musical feel. I suppose it’s entirely possible that Jolly could have applied a completely different set of titles to the pieces and rewired the ‘concept’, but the whole thing works so well, you kind of find yourself forgetting all about any connective tissue and just letting yourself float away on the groove.
‘Springs’ starts off with the sparest bits of percussion and bass until Jolly drops in with a ringing keyboard (according to Odub at Soul Sides, a Wurlitzer electric piano). I love how the bass, drums and piano all get stronger in the tiniest increments, almost to the point that you don’t notice it happening unless you rewind and concentrate on one instrument specifically. What starts out as a whisper turns into a funky, nighttime groove, like closing your eyes and feeling a warm summer breeze move past.
Jolly didn’t record much else with this kind of a feel, which makes ‘Seasons’ all the more amazing.
You should really get your hands on a reissue of ‘Seasons’. I think you’ll find yourself listening to it in a loop, digging it a little deeper each time.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some mid 60s pop

Comments (5)

By Larry, June 27, 2010 4:34 pm

F16C Soul Club Presents – Tony C: Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky

Playlist

You can check out this mix in the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

I hope the new week finds you all well.
Just for the record, my lovely wife has returned home from the hospital, sore and fatigued but on her way to recovery.
I realized last night (after I had already retired for the evening) that I had forgotten to post the mixed MP3 of this weeks Funky16Corners Radio Show from Viva internet radio, so I have done so. It’s an all-Lou Courtney special, and you might want to give it a listen because the fidelity problems caused by the Viva interface have been corrected in the mix. There’s a lot of great music in there, so give it a listen when you get a chance.
Today marks the return of the Funky16Corners Soul Club with a fantastic contribution from my man in the UK, Tony Crampton. A former contributor to Jazz Syndicate Radio (for whom I contributed a guest mix way back when) and respected club DJ, Tony is also a man with impeccable musical taste.
As I’ve mentioned in this space more than once, Tony has a great ear for funk and soul and has many a time turned me on to cool things I hadn’t yet heard.
Mr. Crampton works from a wide ranging palette, including library music, Latin sounds, R&B, funk and soul, and his mixes are always filled with all kinds of wonderful surprises.
This one is no exception, with soul sounds from New Orleans, Jamaica, the UK and all over the USA.
So, pull down those ones and zeros and dig in, on account of everything Tony C does is indeed funky.
See you later in the week.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PPS – Make sure to fall by Iron Leg for some mid-60s pop.

PPPS Make sure to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Comments (3)

By Larry, June 12, 2010 10:43 am

Greetings all.

Just a note to let you know that last night’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show has been posted as a downloadable MP3 file and is available in the Radio Show Archive. It’s an island soul special, with ska, rock steady and reggae, including many groovy soul covers.

Stop in and check it out.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some psyche pop

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

You can also follow Funky16Corners on Twitter

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 10, 2010 4:11 pm

Greetings all.

Thanks to some unexpected and decidedly unwelcome crap that just crowbarred itself into my life, I spent the time I’d usually be writing, digimatizing et al, behind the wheel of the Funky16Cornersmobile. As a result the regularly scheduled Friday posts – here and over at Iron Leg – will be preempted.
Fortunately, I have to turn in my Viva Radio shows a week in advance, so the Funky16Corners Radio Show will go off this Friday night at 9PM EST as scheduled.
It’s a good one this week – if I say so myself – with a collection of reggae soul that I think you’ll dig.
Make sure you tune in via the interwebs, and if you can’t, either pick up the stream at Viva afterward, or wait until Saturday and I’ll have the episode archived here for download.
I should be back on Monday.
Until then….

Peace

Larry

PS If you haven’t done so already,now might be a good time to catch up with the F16C Soul Club and archived F16C Radio Show mixes…

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some psyche pop

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

You can also follow Funky16Corners on Twitter

Comments (5)

By Larry, June 6, 2010 2:41 pm

Dr Feelgood & the Interns – Piano Red/Dr Feelgood (left), Roy Lee Johnson (3rd from right)

Listen/Download – Dr Feelgood & the Interns – Mr Moonlight

Greetings all.

Welcome back to the Funky16Corners blog.
I have to start by thanking those of you who contributed to the 2010 Pledge Drive.
While this wasn’t the best year, you’d have to be locked in a subterranean bunker somewhere to know that it REALLY hasn’t been a good year for a lot of people. That fact makes it all the more significant that some of you felt strongly enough about Funky16Corners to dig deep and send something our way.
I’ve never taken advertising on the blog (though it has been considered) for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost, I don’t like the way it looks, and second, I don’t like the way it would change the feel of Funky16Corners.
In some ways – especially thanks to the response I’ve gotten over the years at fund-raising time – Funky16Corners has always been a collaborative effort. Those of you that stop by to partake in the discussion – often furthering it with new information and other leads – and those of you (more often than not some of the same people) who chip in during the pledge drive, are what keep the blog (and the blogger) going.
Despite the fact that blogging can often devolve into solipsism, I prefer it when it breaks through to a level where it really is a shared effort, not just with the music itself, but with the feeling of the music and the history behind it.
While I’m sure there are a lot of people who just stop by to click the links and collect the MP3s, there are a lot of folks, readers, collectors, fellow DJs and musicians who take the time to join in the conversation and make the blog something greater than the sum of its parts.
I’d like to take the time to thank all of you, because without you it wouldn’t really be worth the effort.

So, THANK YOU, VERY MUCH!

Consider this yet another new beginning, recharged for another year in the blog-o-mos-phere.
If you look up at the header, you’ll notice a couple of changes.
First, as promised the Funky16Corners Soul Club is up and running, with all the mixes that were up last week (and if you haven’t checked them all out, take the time to do so because they’re all excellent).
Second, following a number of requests, I’ve mixed down and archived the last several editions of the Funky16Corners Radio Show that I do for Viva internet radio. The shows date back to the end of April when I started doing the live mixes and the show moved to its Friday 9PM (EST) time slot. There are no playlists (I back announce every song) but there are short descriptions about what you can expect in each episode.
If you haven’t yet checked out the radio show, take the time to pull down a couple of episodes and check it out. I think you’ll like it.
Also, make sure you stop by Fleamarket Funk over the next few weeks. The Asbury Park 45 Sessions crew managed to record all the sets from the 5/28 session, and DJ Prestige will be posting them up over the coming weeks.

_______________________________________________________________________________

The tune I bring you today is an old fave that I only got my hands on (in 45 form) last year.
Something you might have picked up on over the years is that I am a regular hound when it comes to the original versions of songs covered and made famous during the 60s by (mainly) white singers, mostly associated with the British Invasion. This is mainly due to the fact that I came to much of the soul music I love via these covers when I was but a lad.

Today’s selection, ‘Mr Moonlight’ by Dr Feelgood and the Interns was covered by the biggest of them all, namely the Beatles (on the US LP “Beatles 65′).
Though my youthful Beatle-mania introduced me to the Fabs version when I was about 13, it wasn’t until decades later that I heard the OG. When I did I was blown away, especially when I began to dig a little.
As it turns out, ‘Mr Moonlight’ was penned (and sung) by Mr. Roy Lee Johnson, the performer of one of my all time fave 45s, 1966s ‘Boogaloo #3’. That, and the fact that ‘Dr Feelgood’ was a pseudonym for blues legend Piano Red (aka William Lee Perryman) who was 51 when this record was recorded. Perryman, who was playing and recording with Blind Willie McTell in the mid-1930s, spent years as both a musician and under the Dr Feelgood name, as a DJ in the Atlanta area.
It is in fact Perryman singing on the 45s A-side ‘Dr Feelgood’ which was a minor R&B hit.
It was the B-side, ‘Mr Moonlight’ which would – a few years later – put more than a few dollars in the pockets of Roy Lee Johnson.
One of those records that presents a perfect bridge between the harmony records of the 1950s and the soul of the 60s, ‘Mr Moonlight’ has a melody worthy of a Tin Pan Alley standard, and Johnson’s vocal is nothing less than epic.
This is one of those songs that I can’t help wailing along with when I play it in the car (or anywhere else I think I won’t get caught).
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something cool.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some psyche pop

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

You can also follow Funky16Corners on Twitter

Comments (5)

By Larry, May 13, 2010 3:56 pm

The Emperors: Edgar Moore 2nd from right

Listen/Download – The Emperors – Karate Boogaloo

Listen/Download -The Emperors – Mumble Shingaling

Greetings all.

I hope the end of the week finds you all well.
A few days back I got word that Edgar Moore, one of the founding members of one of my favorite 60s soul groups, the Emperors had passed away.
I’ve been a huge fan of the Emperors since I started digging up their 45s back in the day, from their sole chart hit ‘Karate’ (Top 40 in the Fall of 1966) , to their cover (which, depending on the day you ask me I may indicate to be the superior version) of Don Gardner’s ‘My Baby Likes To Boogaloo’.
You can head over to the Funky16Corners web zine to check out a piece I wrote about the group many years ago, but suffice to say, over the course of the handful of 45s they recorded the Emperors laid down a fantastic take on the whole sock soul thing with the same garagey edge you hear on some of Chuck Edwards’ 45s (was it something in the Pennsylvania water??).
The group formed in Harrisburg, PA but recorded all of their 45s in Philadelphia.
Today I bring you both sides of a 45 that I was unaware of for years, until I happened upon it at a record show. I had always assumed the Emperors three Mala 45s to be the entirety of their output, until I grabbed their sole Brunswick 45, ‘Karate Boogaloo’ b/w ‘Mumble Shingaling’.
Recorded in 1967 and produced – like their earlier 45s – by Philly radio personality George Wilson – this is a funkier side of the Emperors, with the core of their original sound still present, but with a stripped down production style.
‘Karate Boogaloo’ – which begins with some weird, clearly overdubbed crowd noise – includes some cool percussion, rhythm guitar and of course the Emperor’s harmonies. ‘Mumble Shingaling’ features some great, shambolic guitar and organ. It’s the kind of record that makes you wonder what the Emperors – like so many groups that bumped up against the end of the era of pure soul into the sound of funk – might have done had they continued to make music.
This is the last thing they did before the group broke up seeing a partial regrouping as Emperors Soul 69 for the Futura label out of their home base of Harrisburg, PA.
As has been the case for some years now, aside from digging up the original 45s (which a quick online search will reveal to be considerably more expensive than they used to be), your best bet is to grab the Philly Archives CD reissue which includes all of their best work.
I hope you dig the song, and that you raise a glass in memory of Edgar Moore.

NOTE: Don’t forget to check out the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio this Friday night at 9PM. It’s a funk 45 exercise, so you won’t want to miss it!
See you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a a glimpse at the sound of Billy Joel…circa 1967

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

You can also follow Funky16Corners on Twitter

Comments (3)

By Larry, May 4, 2010 7:34 pm

Maskman and the Agents

Listen/Download – Maskman and the Agents – My Wife, My Dog and My Cat

Greetings all.

To get things started, I should let you know that due to some pressing personal business, this will be the last post this week. Nothing tragic, just stuff that needs to be attended to, so I figured I whip something extremely tasty on you to keep you going until Monday.
Back in January I heard of the passing of the great Harmon Bethea, aka the Maskman. On his own, and with the able assistance of the Agents, Bethea laid down a heap of smoking soul and R&B through the 60s. According to his Washington Post obit, he first strapped on the mask in 1964, and at that time he was hardly a spring chicken, having already turned 40!
The record I bring you today was an early (and momentous) arrival in my funk 45 crates, having been procured more than a decade ago, and has been, since the very first listen a big fave in the Funky16Corners household (my wife can quote lyrics from this one!).
The history of 20th century black music, from blues to jazz, to R&B, to soul and funk has a long history of humor running through it. Sometimes this came in the form of folks who were humorists first, i.e. comedians like Pigmeat Markham, Cliff Tyson and Timmie Rodgers branching out into music. In the case of Maskman and the Agents, the infusion of humor was secondary, as in the case of the mighty Slim Gaillard, hilarity was seasoning, tossed into a pot already simmering with musical quality.
‘My Wife, My Dog and My Cat’ from the Spring of 1969 is – at least in my opinion – the finest (and funniest) thing Maskman and the Agents ever laid down. A minor R&B hit, the tune is the fast-moving tale of a slightly slippery character who cannot get away with anything, thanks to a vigilant wife and a pair of traitorous pets.
Maskman decides to fall by a swinging house party – in spite of his wife’s warnings – and madness ensues.
The description of the party, and its attendees ( a couple of honeys who were ‘fat as a country possum stuffed with sweet potatoes’) is incredibly funny, as is Maskman’s food order, including pigs feet, hot rolls, greens with fatback and potato salad.
Naturally, things collapse as soon as Mrs. Maskman gets home and our hero is betrayed by his once loyal pets, his german police dog (which he raised from a pup) tearing off his crazy suit and causing him to ‘run out from under his hat’.
Solid, solid stuff…funny as hell and funky as well.
Maskman we hardly knew ye.

NOTE: Don’t forget to check out the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio this Friday night at 9PM. It’s a Hammond LP track blowout, so you won’t want to miss it!

See you all next week

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a repost of a great tune by the late Lynn Redgrave

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

You can also follow Funky16Corners on Twitter

Comments (2)

By Larry, April 29, 2010 4:44 pm

Bob and Earl

Listen/Download -Bob and Earl – Baby, Your Time Is My Time

Greetings all.

I hope you’re all well.

The end of the week is here, and it behooves me to remind you that Friday night at 9PM (Eastern), if you’re huddled up against the computer screen for warmth, you should most definitely point your browser toward the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio (see snappy new link in the sidebar). This week’s show is the first in the new format, i.e. mixed and recorded live for your delectation. There are some hot cuts in there, so fall by if you’re in the e-neighborhood.

In other news, the end of May will see the return of the Funky16Corners annual pledge drive, and I have something big in the works. I can’t say much right now, but if all the ducks fall into line, I think you’ll dig what I have planned.

Today’s selection is something surprising (for me, anyway) that I picked up as part of a big lot of old 45s early last year.
I had bid on the lot to get my hands on a psych 45 that had long eluded me, and when the box showed up on my doorstep I was pleased to discover that it also included several other excellent records that I hadn’t been counting on.
If you’ve followed the blog over the years, you’ll already know that I’m down with the whole Mirwood bag, especially the rotating cast of characters that was really just two cats, i.e. Bob and Earl (aka Bob Relf and Earl Nelson, aka Jackie Lee and on and on etc etc).
I won’t rehash the whole shebang here, except to say that I’ve come to the point in my life where Mirwood has become something of a dependable brand, i.e. if it’s on the label and I don’t know, I’m going to grab it all the same.
When I pulled Bob and Earl’s ‘Baby, Your Time Is My Time’ out of that big carton it was unsleeved, and as the scan above (and a listen to the recording) reveals, the tiniest bit road weary.
That said, it was not a song that I knew, but as soon as I gave it a spin, it became a fave.
The vast majority of the Bob and Earl/Jackie Lee sides I own are upbeat dancers. When I dropped the needle on ‘Baby, Your Time Is My Time’ I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that the pair were also capable of turning out sophisticated soul as well.
‘Baby…’, written by Relf, Nelson and label honcho Fred Smith is a mid tempo number with an absolutely stellar arrangement, with the silky strings, vibe accents, understated horns and of course great singing.
There’s a point about halfway through where things threaten to pick up speed, but a horn break and some bluesy guitar downshift, and things get right back into the groove.
It’s a really great side.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some pensive folk rok

PSS Check out Paperback Rider too.

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

You can also follow Funky16Corners on Twitter