Comments (9)

By Larry, May 13, 2012 2:44 pm

The Mighty Duck

The Law Firm of Jones, Dunn, Cropper and Jackson Esqs

Listen/Download Booker T and the MGs – Sing a Simple Song

Listen/Download Booker T and the MGs – Chicken Pox

Listen/Download Booker T and the MGs – Melting Pot

Greetings all.

I had other plans to start the week (how many times have I typed those words in the last year?) but when I woke up this morning and turned on my phone, the very first thing I saw, while I was still rubbing the sleep from my eyes was news of the passing of the mighty Duck Dunn.

Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, the longtime bassist for the legendary Booker T and the MGs died in his sleep while on tour in Japan.

He was 70 years old.

It is at this point that I make a somewhat embarrassing confession (at least as far as soul is considered) that being that the first time Duck Dunn really came onto my radar was as a member of the Blues Brothers.

I was 16 years old when ‘Briefcase Full of Blues’ came out, and like zillions of others my age (and otherwise) I bought the album.

Though I knew who Booker T and the MGs were – ‘Green Onions’ was then, and still is an elemental part of my musical foundation – I had never heard the names of Dunn and guitarist Steve Cropper before the Blues Brothers came onto the scene.

That album was the first place my fragile young mind touched base with the sounds (once removed) of Junior Wells, King Floyd, the Chips and a few others. As odd as it may seem, that first Blues Brothers album (I never bought another) was a serious jumping off point for me (as many other unlikely records would also be in the following decades).

What I didn’t know at the time, was that I was already deeply in love with the sound of Booker T and the MGs, via their role as Otis Redding’s band on the Monterey Pop recording.

I didn’t start buying soul 45s until I was in my mid-20s, but when I did I grabbed each and every Stax 45 that popped up in front of me, whether at record shows or at dusty flea markets (there twarn’t no interwebs back then, kids…), and many of them were either by Booker T and the MGs, or featured some or all of them as the backing band.

The decades that followed saw me – like any other self respecting soul fan – picking up Booker T albums wherever I found them.

While their oeuvre was, like every other instrumental band of the era, seasoned liberally with filler, they had more high points (and quite a few Everests) in their catalog than just about any other similar outfit.

The MGs were as tight as they came, with Dunn and uber-drummer Al Jackson creating as deep a pocket as has ever been heard.

The selection of songs I bring you today is by no means comprehensive, but I think you’ll find it quite groovy nonetheless.

There will be no Green Onions served, since Dunn wasn’t yet a member of the group* when it was recorded.

I have included a very tight Sly and the Family Stone cover, and two brilliant tracks from the last album the band did together.

Their cover of Sly’s ‘Sing a Simple Song’ comes from their 1969 LP ‘The Booker T Set’ and opens with a bit of a drum break from Jackson, soaked thoroughly in reverb, before the band kicks in. It sees the heavy kick of Jackson’s bass drum move into a more explicitly funky place, and while it never really moves into Sly-esque overdrive, it is tasty indeed.

‘Chicken Pox’ the first track from the group’s 1971 LP “Melting Pot’ (the last by the classic line-up) is the sound of the Meters breathing down the MG’s collective neck. The band is moving into a funkier place, and doing so with style, but the spectre of their Crescent City competition always seems to be there. Oh, how I wish this one was on a 45…

The last cut I bring you today is the title cut from ‘Melting Pot’, and by far one of the most interesting things they ever did.

Lasting in excess of eight minutes, ‘Melting Pot’ is important not only because it shows signs of the MGs stretching out into more progressive directions, but also because it became one of David Mancuso’s deeply influential Loft parties in New York City.

I’ll spare you an excess of words here, but if you have any interest in digging a little deeper, you can refer back to the piece I wrote on the record in early 2010.

Suffice to say, if all you ever knew was ‘Green Onions’, ‘Melting Pot’ will be a revelation.

Duck Dunn was – in addition to his better known gigs – a prolific session musician, both during and after the Stax era.

He was a legend, and he will be missed.

See you later in the week.

Keep the faith

Larry

*Though Dunn was a longtime part of the Stax/Memphis crew, being a boyhood friend of cats like Cropper and Packy Axton (Dunn was in the Mar-Keys) he didn’t join the MGs until he replaced Lewis Steinberg in 1965

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (7)

By Larry, May 10, 2012 10:22 am

Little Milton means it ladies!

Listen/Download Little Milton – Just a Little Bit

Greetings all.

I hope the end of the week finds you all well.

I should remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t make it at airtime you can always come by the blog and grab yourself a downloadable MP3 of the show (and more than 100 archived episodes) over the weekend.

If you travel through the highways and byways of the Funky16Corners then you will already know that I am often preoccupied with the species known as the soulful bluesman.

During the classic era these giant roamed the earth, guitars (and or harmonicas) in hand dominating any ecosystem they happened to stomp in.

You had your Syl Johnson, Junior Wells, Alberts King and Collins, and, perhaps the souliest of them all, Little Milton.

During a long and fruitful career he laid down some of the finest example of the sub-genre, especially groovers like ‘Grits Ain’t Groceries’ (his reworking of Little Willie John’s ‘All Around the World’) and ‘More and More’ (covered ably by Blood Sweat and Tears).

I grab Little Milton 45s wherever I find them because his work was consistently and reliably good.

It was only in the last year that I finally encountered one of his LPs in the field. It was a ‘Greatest Hits’ but it included several tracks I didn’t have yet so I grabbed it and took it home.

Among the new (to me) cuts was Milton’s outstanding coverof Rosco Gordon’s 1959 classic ‘Just a Little Bit’.

I already had the 1965 cover by Roy Head (done in the style of his previous hit ‘Treat Her Right’) but despite the fact that it was a Top 20 R&B hit in 1969 I had never heard Little Milton’s version of the song.

Milton takes the song at a somewhat slower, ever so slightly funky tempo, adding in plenty of organ and of course his own sweet voice.

It is not in any way earth-shattering – the song has after all been covered dozens of times – but it is a groovy tune and any Little Milton is quality Little Milton, and so I bring it to you.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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).

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, May 6, 2012 4:17 pm

The Samplers – Beastie Boys

The Sampled – clockwise from top left – Johnny Hammond Smith, Norman Whitfield,
Jimmy Smith, The Commodores, Jeremy Steig

Listen/Download Johnny Hammond Smith – Big Sur Suite

Original release – Higher Ground LP (Kudu 1974) – Sampled on Pass the Mic (Check Your Head LP 1992)

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Listen/Download Commodores – Machine Gun

Original Release – Machine Gun LP (Motown 1974) – Sampled on Hey Ladies (Paul’s Boutique LP 1989)

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Listen/Download Jeremy Steig – Howling For Judy

Original Release – Legwork LP (Solid State 1969) – Sampled on Sure Shot (Ill Communication LP 1994)

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Listen/Download Jimmy Smith – I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More Babe

Original Release – Blacksmith LP (Pride 1974) – Sampled on Professor Booty (Check Your Head LP 1992)

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Listen/Download Norman Whitfield/Rose Royce – Yo Yo

Original Release – Car Wash OST (MCA 1976) – Sampled On Shake Your Rump (Paul’s Boutique LP 1989)

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Listen/Download Afrique – Kissing My Love

Original Release – Soul Makossa LP (Mainstream 1973) – Sampled on Bodhisattva Vow (Ill Communication LP 1994)

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Greetings all.

Welcome to another week here at the Corners du Fonque…

As has been mentioned several times recently most of what you’ve been reading here in the last few weeks was – due to necessity – prepared a few weeks in advance so as to facilitate the massive amount of commuting and other life-disrupting activities involved in my wife’s treatment (which, now that I mention it seems to be going well, so let’s keep those fingers crossed).

This weekend has been especially tiring, but the news of the passing of the mighty MCA, Adam Yauch could not be ignored, so as soon as we got home and rolled out of the Funky16Corners-mobile, I rolled into the record vault and got to work.

I have listened to hip hop, first passively (way back in the day) and then as a lightweight consumer with a focus therein on what I would consider dynamic use of sampled material.

You can’t really talk about that aspect of the game without giving props to the Beastie Boys.

Over the years the Beasties have played a big part in piqueing my interest in samples and by association the sounds sampled (why else would I have owned a copy of Alphonse Mouzon’s ‘Funky Snakefoot’) long before I was spinning (or writing about) funk, soul, jazz and rare groove.

Sampling/cut and paste is an art in which it’s not terribly difficult to separate the lazy slobs from the masters, i.e. being able to differentiate from someone who can lift a song wholesale and slap something new on it and someone who can hear a really interesting sound within another piece of music and re-purpose it in a way that makes your ears (and brain) perk up in admiration.

One of the dangers of trainspotting is that the listener runs the risk of getting lost in the component parts, losing sight of the forest for the digitally borrowed trees.

However, secure in the knowledge that good taste is sometimes its own reward, the best samples sound as good (or better) in their original form as they do when placed as a cog in another ‘machine’. Often (not always, obviously) groovy bits of sound are not sui generis, and are traceable back to an equally groovy “whole”, which is the case in the music I bring you today.

I like to think that the first time I had my mind blown by ‘Paul’s Boutique’ or ‘Check Your Head’ my crates (and ears) were deep enough that I recognized some of the coolest stuff, but at the same time I’m honest enough to admit that the ensuing years witnessed my recognition of some of that music for the first time (like the time my man Marshall down in DC dropped Jimmy Smith’s previously unknown – to me – version of ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More Babe’ and the light bulb went off over my head).

It was in those moments of recognition that new digging targets were registered and I followed them into flea markets, record stores on onto the interwebs.

The cuts I bring you today are examples of some of my favorite Beastie Boys samples (drums, bass and guitar) out of my crates.

Some of them were things I already had, others, like the bass in ‘Big Sur Suite’ and ‘Yo Yo’ or the guitar in ‘Machine Gun’, I picked up first and discovered/recognized the sample(s) after the fact.

What all of them have in common, aside from the fact that they appealed to the Beasties, is that they are all worth listening to in their entirety.

Maybe some of you will be hearing the complete songs for the first time.

I hope you dig them all, and I’ll see you later in the week.

Keep the faith

Larry

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).

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 3, 2012 1:25 pm

Joe Bataan (center)

Listen/Download Joe Bataan – Es Tu Cosa (It’s Your Thing)

Greetings all.

The end of another week is upon us, and it behhoves me to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and very Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, followed the next day, posted in MP3 form right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a very groovy, very laid back slice of Latin soul.

I will go ahead and assume that you’re all familiar with the mighty Afro-Filipino singer and bandleader Joe Bataan.

He has appeared in this space a few times in the past (vocally and instrumentally) and is unquestionably one of the kings of the classic era of Latin soul.

Today’s selection is a particularly interesting number as it touches on a few different musical strands (if you will).

‘Es Tu Cosa (It’s Your Thing)’ is (and isn’t) a ‘cover’ of the hugely influential 1969 single by the Isley Brothers.

Though it bears no musical relation to the Isley’s tune (it sounds a lot closer to the laid back groove of Willie Bobo’s ‘Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries’), it does pretty much quote the lyrics of that song’s chorus.

The lyrics do eventually diverge from the Isley’s tune, and the overall effect suggests an after-hours club in Spanish Harlem, replacing the lively funk of that song with a relaxed soul.

When I first got my hands on this 45 I gave it a fair amount of thought.

As I said before, the Isley Brother’s ‘It’s Your Thing’ was a huge hit in the Spring of 1969, going to #1 R&B and making it to #2 Pop.

It’s influence can be seen not only in the long list of outright covers of the song, but also in the list of homages to it as well, in records that borrow the main riff (like Clarence Wheeler and the Enforcers ‘Doin’ What We Wanna’) or “answer” the OG (like Marva Whitney’s ‘It’s My Thing’).

It’s not out of the question that Bataan felt that the refrain…

It’s your thing, do what you wanna do
I can’t tell you who to sock it to

…had transcended its roots as a lyric and emerging as something much bigger, the kind of statement that would find its way on to t-shirts and spray-painted onto city walls.

Either way, it is a very, very groovy record, perfect for the coming of summer weather.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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).

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 (1)

By Larry, April 26, 2012 11:54 am

Bubbha Thomas and the Lightmen

Listen/Download Fried Chicken – Funky DJ

Greetings all.

The end of another week is upon us, and it behooves me to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and very Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, followed the next day, posted in MP3 form right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today may (should) sound familiar.

A few years back I posted Earnest Jackson’s 1974 45 ‘Funky Black Man’.

It was in that post that I mentioned that the song had been remade a few years later as ‘Funky DJ’ by a group calling themselves Fried Chicken (who were in fact a pseudonymous Bubbha Thomas and the Lightmen).

Both records were used by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist in their landmark mixes, ‘Funky Black Man’ in ‘Product Placement’ and ‘Funky DJ’ in ‘Brainfreeze’.

Drummer Bubbha Thomas and the Lightmen (also billed as the Lightmen Plus One) hailed from Houston, TX.

Thomas had studied under Conrad Johnson (later director of the legendary Kashmere Stage Band) and with the Lightmen released two albums ‘Energy Control Center’ in 1972 (the track ‘The Phantom’ was included on the Stones Throw ‘Funky 16 Corners’ compilation) and ‘Country Fried Chicken’.

I’m not sure how Thomas and his band came to cover Jackson’s record, but the results were certainly interesting (especially to anyone interested in sampling the phrase ‘funky dj’).

It was also co-produced by 60s pop star John Fred!

I stand by my initial appraisal, in which I stated that Jackson’s vocals are superior, but both records are certainly cool and worth hearing.

I hope you dig it and I’ll be back on Monday with something groovy.

Keep the faith

Larry

PS This one goes out to all the funky DJs, you know who you are.

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).

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, March 29, 2012 2:57 pm

Grant Green

Listen/Download Grant Green – Never Can Say Goodbye

Greetings all.

I should start off by reminding you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves of the interwebs this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t join us at airtime, make sure to fall by the blog and pick yourself up an MP3 of the show (or dip into the extensive Radio Show archives with almost 100 past episodes).

I should also mention that I’ll be joining the HPRS vinyl collective to sell some records this Saturday 3/31. The sale runs from 11-5 at 960 Green Street in Iselin, NJ (not too far off of Rt1). I’ll have a couple of boxes of LPs (lots of soul jazz and 60s rock) as well as a few boxes of 45s (funk, soul, jazz, rock etc) and some ephemera. If you’re in the area and have a taste for records come by and sample the wares.

The tune I bring you today is a stellar cover of what in unquestionably one of my all time favorite songs.

When I was a kid, Clifton Davis was famous as an actor, which is why I was shocked years later to discover that he was responsible for composing ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’.

Whether it is in the original hit version by the Jackson Five (1971), the epic disco reading by Gloria Gaynor (1974) or even in the slow burn by Isaac Hayes, the song has a remarkably powerful melody that has drilled itself deep into my brain.

I pick up covers of the song wherever I find them, which is why I grabbed (first) the 45 of Grant Green’s version, and then years later the LP from which it was pulled, 1971’s ‘Visions’ (which is where this recording is from).

Green takes a slow, late-night approach to the tune with some very nice soloing, but the real key to why this particular arrangement resonates with me is Billy Wooten’s vibes.

Known to crate diggers and collectors as the man behind the Wooden Glass (a group that also included pianist Emmanuel Riggins, who also joined Wooten in Green’s band and plays on this date), Wooten also contributed to a few albums by the Soulful Strings and Richard Evans.

Wooten’s vibes add a ringing counterpoint to the guitar and electric piano, bouncing between the right and left channels, becoming in many ways the heart of the record.

It’s a wonderful interpretation of the song and one of my faves.

I hope you dig it too, and I’ll see you all next week.

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 (2)

By Larry, March 25, 2012 1:34 pm

Betty Lavette

Listen/Download Betty LaVette – Nearer To You

Greetings all.

I hope all is well in your corner of the soulful world.

Before we get started, I should mention that I’ll be joining the HPRS vinyl collective to sell some records this coming Saturday 3/31. The sale runs from 11-5 at 960 Green Street in Iselin, NJ (not too far off of Rt1). I’ll have a couple of boxes of LPs (lots of soul jazz and 60s rock) as well as a few boxes of 45s (funk, soul, jazz, rock etc) and some ephemera. If you’re in the area and have a taste for records come by and sample the wares.

A while back I decided to dip back into the crates to pull out some choice stuff for to digimatize for the Funky16Corners Radio Show.

There are so many records in my little record room (too many, at least for the allotted space) that every once in a while I can start flipping through boxes and pull out all manner of unjustly neglected (by me) records to listen to anew.

All of the good ones eventually end up in this space or on the radio show (usually both).

I picked up today’s selection many years ago out of some dollar bin or other.

It was long before I really had any idea about Betty LaVette (I knew her name, but little else) and grabbed it because it was a cover of one of my favorite Betty Harris tunes, ‘Nearer to You’.

It was Harris’s biggest hit, making into the R&B Top 20 and the Pop Top 100 in the summer of 1967.

‘Nearer To You’ is one of the finest ballads to flow from the pen of the mighty Allen Toussaint, and it is one of Betty Harris’s best performances.

Now Ms LaVette has been featured in this space before.

Though she never really much chart success to speak of (though the flip side of today’s selection grazed the R&B Top 20), her discography, beginning in 1962 and moving through the next two decades on some of the finest soul labels in America is very solid indeed.

She recorded a handful of 45s for Shelby Singleton’s Silver Fox and SSS International in 1969 and 1970, the first of which featured today’s selection on the B-side.

Produced by Lelan Rogers*, LaVette’s version of ‘Nearer To You’ is a vocal tour de force.

LaVette’s voice is a powerful and flexible instrument and she manages to wrap it around Toussaint’s melody tightly, with a great southern soul backing.

She has had a career resurgence in the 2000s, recording a number of new, and excellent albums.

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

Peace

Larry

*Lelan, brother of the famous Kenny and producer of the 13th Floor Elevators…

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, March 18, 2012 12:43 pm

Mister Rufus Thomas

Listen/Download – Rufus Thomas – The Preacher and the Bear (Live)

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you this fine day is one of those lucky finds that manages to work on multiple levels.

First and foremost, it is undeniably funky, and I love few things more than stumbling upon a funk record that I haven’t heard before.

Second, it brings with it a very interesting story, in which our man Rufus Thomas gets to step inside a song – three quarters of a century old (when he recorded it) – and turn it inside out.

It was a short while back that I managed to find myself at the intersection of free time and a few extra dollars on the corner of look, record for sale.

There was another one of those record/garage sales at the Asbury Lanes, which have over time fluctuated between an embarrassment of riches (as far as vinyl is concerned) and occasionally yielding what folks have since time immemorial referred to simply as jack shit.

I didn’t have much green lining my pockets this time out, which didn’t matter since the first box I flipped through yielded a half dozen very nice 45s, all in the one or two dollar range, and the next table I hit coughed up a couple of cool LPs, one of which gave up the track you see before you.

With that, the bank was broken and I decamped for a fish sang-weech and the ride home.

Now, when I picked up the ‘Rufus Thomas Live Doing the Push and Pull at PJs’ album, and finished staggering through the very lengthy and awkward title, I decided to grab it because it contained live versions of a couple of his favorites, which I surmised might be very cool.

What I did not suspect, is that there would be a track that would good and truly blow my mind.

Rufus Thomas was a righteous dude, for a variety of reasons (all good, all having to do with music) and anyone that would waste your time arguing otherwise deserves little more than a kick in the shins.

He made some of the finest, funkiest records that Stax ever put out, many when he was well into middle age.

When I first dropped the needle on the live version of ‘The Preacher and the Bear’, I was grabbed by the spoken intro:

‘Here’s a song I understand is very popular out this way, out here on the coast.
Now, it is done differently in the club.’

But Rufus pronounces the last word ‘cluurrbb’ with an emphasis that implied that the live venue was something quite different from the studio*.

He wasn’t kidding.

What I didn’t know when I first heard the record and not until I sat down to research this piece, was that Rufus had recorded a studio version of ‘The Preacher and the Bear’ in 1970 (#42 R&B).

It has been reissued a few times (you can get it here), and it has to be said while the 45 version is lively, it is a radically different construct than what Rufus and his band laid down at PJs, and in comparison very weak broth indeed.

The title of the song was vaguely familiar, and when I listened to the lyrics they were similarly so (for good reason).

As it turns out, ‘The Preacher and the Bear’ had been around for ages. It was first published in 1903 and recorded a few years later by Arthur Collins (reportedly the first million selling recording).

It was, in it’s original form, what was known as a ‘coon song’, i.e. one that portrayed a racist image of blacks (in a wide variety of settings) often sung in what was supposed to pass for negro vernacular and often exaggerated accent.

The basic story – of a hypocritical preacher gone hunting on the Sabbath and getting treed by a bear for his sin – changed little over the years (aside from the removal of the overt racist context and the term ‘coon’).

‘The Preacher and the Bear’ was re-recorded/reinterpreted many times over the years, in a variety of musical settings, actually becoming a hit in versions by Phil Harris (1947) and Jerry Reed(1971).

Since Thomas was performing with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels in the mid 1930s , it’s possible that he had been hearing (if not actually performing) the song for decades.

The song was almost always delivered as a humorous tale with the preacher petitioning the lord to deliver him from the bear as he had delivered Daniel, Jonah and others in the bible from their travails.

While Rufus Thomas made humor and important component of his discography, what he does with ‘The Preacher and the Bear’ is something else entirely.

As he said in the intro, the song was indeed ‘done differently in the club’.

Where the studio version of the song is briskly paced, with an almost Chicago blues style to it, the live version is much funkier, with a guitar line that sounds like a not so distant cousin to Ike and Tina Turner’s ‘Bold Soul Sister’.

Thomas and his band attack the song from an entirely new angle, using the hard edge of the music to add a touch of actual danger to the tale.

The lyrics of the song follow a familiar path until Thomas reaches the chorus where he makes some subtle but (very) important changes.

Earlier versions of the song generally reference Daniel, Jonah, and the “Hebrew children in the furnace” (aka Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) all tales from the Old Testament where people were saved from certain death by the intercession of god.

Thomas replaces Noah with Samson and ends the chorus with a reference to David and Goliath, both stories where the heroes were endowed directly with supernatural strength that allowed them to triumph in their time of troubles.

When Thomas charges into the chorus there is fire in his voice.

You remember Daniel from the lion’s den
Samson strong as a hundred men
The Hebrew children in the furnace of fire
David when he killed Goliath
The good book do declare!

It is as if he is no longer in the cluurrbb, but in chu’ch, which gets even clearer when the band falls back and Rufus starts to preach, adding a whole new chapter to the tale, in which (in the midst of hand-to-claw combat) the preacher reminds god that he protected him from bombs, guns and shrapnel when he was over in Vietnam.

Rufus engages in a little back and forth with the audience that has momentarily been converted (transubstantiated?) into a de facto amen corner with the organist in the band playing as if he were adjacent not to the bar, but rather the choir loft.

When Rufus starts to invoke Vietnam he adds a layer of sadness to the song that was never really there before, and the listener is compelled to wonder if in fact the struggle with the bear hadn’t become (at least in this case) a metaphor for the black experience in the 1960s.

All of those old bible stories told people that if they were faithful and followed the commandments that the good lord would be there for them in their time of need.

When I listen to Rufus drop down into the ‘Vietnam’ section of the song it sounds like he’s relating the story of someone who feels that they’ve finally been forsaken.

Is it possible that the ‘World’s Oldest Teenager’ had reached back into the early years of the century to take an old “coon song” reconstruct it on an angry frame and shoot it back out into the ether?

I think it is.

I hope you dig it too.

Peace

Larry

*It should be noted that over the last century the music behind ‘The Preacher and the Bear’ has often changed drastically in different settings. I have heard a similar tune behind some of the country versions of the song from the 30s on, but the Rufus Thomas recordings of the song diverge from those (and each other)

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, March 15, 2012 2:48 pm

Leon Spencer 1945-2012

Listen/Download Leon Spencer – Message From the Meters

Listen/Download Leon Spencer – The Slide

Listen/Download Melvin Sparks (feat Leon Spencer) – Thank You Pt1

Listen/Download Melvin Sparks (feat Leon Spencer) – Thank You Pt2

Greetings all.

It is – as always – time to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves of the interwebs this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t join us at airtime, make sure to fall by the blog and pick yourself up an MP3 of the show (or dip into the extensive Radio Show archives with almost 100 past episodes).

I had something else planned for today, but last night word started to filer through the haze of the interwebs that one of my favorite past masters of the Hammond organ, the mighty Leon Spencer, had passed away.

I have yet to locate any real details, but when I do I will pass them on.

Spencer may not have been a household name (except for my house, maybe) but he was a very important figure of the crucial, funky, soul jazz years of the late 60s and early 70s.

He only recorded a few albums as a leader (between 1971 and 1974) but was a very prominent sideman on Prestige and Blue Note dates, backing cats like Lou Donaldson, Melvin Sparks, Rusty Bryant, Gene Ammons and others.

I’m posting four cuts for your listening pleasure today.

The first two (recorded 12/7/70) , Spencer’s cover of “Message From the Meters” and his original “The Slide” appeared on his Prestige LP, ‘Sneak Preview’. The all-star group, featuring Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad and Grover Washington Jr really bring the funk on the Meters tune, and get to settle into a more relaxed groove on ‘The Slide’.

The third features an example of Spencer’s work as a sideman (recorded 9/14/70*), backing Sparks (again with Muhammad) on his ‘Sparks’ LP, covering Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Thank You (Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’. I’m posting both halves of the 45 since you get to hear Spencer stretch out a little bot more on part two.

Leon Spencer had a fluid, economical style that always demonstrated an ability to weave in and out of the groove. His playing was clearly deep inside the soul jazz “thing” while also being consistently inventive, something that cannot be said of all organists active in the period.

He will be missed.

See you on Monday with some more soul.

Peace

Larry

*Trumpeter Virgil Jones appears on both dates as well

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, March 11, 2012 11:40 am

The Trammps – Jimmy Ellis at left

Listen/Download The Trammps – Hold Back the Night
Listen/Download The Trammps – Scruboard (Inst)
Listen/Download The Trammps – Medley – Penguin at the Big Apple/Zing Went the Strings of My Heart
Listen/Download The Trammps -Penguin at the Big Apple (Inst)

Greetings all.

I heard late this week that Trammps lead singer Jimmy Ellis had passed away at the age of 74 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s.

Though known to the general public mainly for their 1977 hit ‘Disco Inferno’ (which had the good fortune to be included on the Saturday Night Fever OST) hardcore soulies and Philly aficianados know that the Trammps legacy was much bigger than that.

It bears mentioning – especially here – that the Trammps had their roots in the Volcanos (of ‘Storm Warning’ fame) and through their multi-decade career included not only the exceptionally soulful voice of Jimmy Ellis, but the backing – instrumentally, songwriting and production – of some of the finest talent in Philadelphia.

The four tunes I bring you today hail from the Trammps 1975 LP ‘The Legendary Zing Album’.

A slightly deceptive bit of packaging – the ‘album’ was actually a compilation of earlier (circa 1972) tracks, remixes, instrumental dubs and new tracks – ‘The Legendary Zing Album’ is nonetheless remarkable.

First and foremost it highlights the Trammps as one of the more soulful acts associated with the disco era, i.e. heavy on actual songs/singing as opposed to injection molded/assembly line dance floor fodder. Though you don’t get a hell of a lot of vocals here, what you do get are outstanding.

Jimmy Ellis had one of those rare, perfect soul voices that combined a remarkable level of control that allowed him to swing effortlessly between moderation and soaring gospel-inflected shouts.

‘Hold Back the Night’ which was the Trammps’ first R&B Top 10 hit (also making into the Pop Top 40 and the Top 5 in the UK). Written by Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, Earl Young and Allen Felder, ‘Hold Back the Night’ combines smooth, yet danceable soul with pop hooks. It has a certain pre-disco feel to it, and managed to get a fair amount of play on Northern Soul dance floors when it hit in the UK.

‘Scruboard’ (or ‘Scrub-Board’ as it was titled on its 1972 45 release) is actually the instrumental track that would later be used for ‘Hold Back the Night’. It first appeared as the B-side of the group’s version of ‘Sixty Minute Man’.

Though the Trammps had their first hit with their version of the old standard ‘Zing Went the Strings of My Heart’ in 1972, the medley of that song and its instrumental dub ‘Penguin at the Big Apple’ was a “new” assemblage created for the ‘Legendary Zing Album’ by none other than mix-meister Tom Moulton. It has a much more disco-friendly mix – approaching the five-minute mark – and you get to hear more of that fantastic rhythm guitar.

The Trammps run of hits came to a close in 1978, though they continued to perform (with and without Ellis) for many years.

I hope you dig the tracks, and that you raise a glass (or more appropriately, cut a rug) in memory of Jimmy Ellis.

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 (0)

By Larry, March 8, 2012 5:14 pm

Playlist

Jenny Misty – Nature Boy- Breakout
Earnest Jackson – Funky Blackman (Stone)
Bill Withers – Kissing My Love (Sussex)
Talmadge Armstrong – You’ve Got So Much Feeling (In Your Love) (Love Records)
Sir Wales Wallace- Whatever you Want (Innovations 2)
Big John Hamilton – Just Seeing You Again (Minaret)
Alex Williams & The Mustangs – Thrill Aint Gone ( Jewel)
Ernest Johnson – Old Man Blues (Steph and Lee)
Rickey Calloway – Paid My Dues Part. 1 (Super Records)
Fabulous Counts – Rhythm Changes (Westbound)
Jimmie (The Shiek) Green – Let Yourself Go (Stringer)
Stage Three- Don’t Ever Go Home (Zelia)
Wisdom – Nefertiti (Adelia)

Listen/Download -The Wiz – Mixed by Tarik Thornton – 48MB Mixed Mp3/160K

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here and I have a very special treat for you all.

But first – as is always the custom – I simply must remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show will be blowing up the intertubes this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. Or, should you be unable to attend at the time of broadcast, you can always drop by this very spot to grab yourselves an MP3 of this (or any of the previous ninety-some) week’s show.

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Also, I don’t usually do a whole ot of plugs here, but I got word that the BBC is doing an hour-long radio documentary on one of my all-time faves, the mighty Wilson Pickett, featuring interviews with folks like Bobby Womack, Steve Cropper, Bobby Eli, Willie Schofield, Eddie Floyd, Sir Mack Rice, Rick Hall, and Spooner Oldham and the whole thing is narrated by none other than Roger Daltrey.

It will be broadcast on BBC2 (for you good folks in the UK) on Monday March 12th at 10pm and will also be available on their listen again feature on their website for the following 7 days.

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Now, back to the treats.

If you are a regular attendee of the festivities here at the Funky16Corners you will already be familiar with the mixing/digging prowess of my man Tarik Thornton.

Tarik has contributed to both of the previous Funky16Corners Soul Club Allnighters, as well as dropping one of his live sets from the Hip Drop.

Tarik is a very solid cat and it should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that I hold his musical taste in high esteem.

The mix he brings us today is his latest excursion, this in a down-to-mid-tempo style, entitled ‘The Wiz’.

I’m always down to listen to any of Tarik’s mixes, but this one is extra groovy.

Despite my obvious love for hard charging bangers (funk and/or soul) I have a highly developed taste for the somewhat more laid back side of funk (see ‘Easy Mover’ just added to the Guest Mix Archive), in the “it doesn’t have to crack you over the head to bring the funk” school of thought.

That is the vibe of ‘The Wiz’ with some stuff straight out of the old school, some of slightly later – how the kids say “modern soul’ bag – and some very tasty breaks as well.

He doesn’t belabor the point either, bringing the whole thing in at around a tight 40 minutes.

Give this one a spin with the lights down low.

I know you’ll 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 (1)

By Larry, February 26, 2012 4:02 pm

The People’s Choice

Listen/Download -The People’s Choice – Do It Any Way You Wanna

Greetings all.

Welcome to another week at the Funky16Corners!

First, a very brief technical note, it occurred to me that if you use the RSS feed you’ll have to reset the link you use, as the feed has changed.

The tune I bring you today is one of those records that should have been glaringly obvious (or at least it seemed so when I finally heard it) but I managed (in classic Larry Grogan fashion) to find my way there by the most circuitous route possible.

I first knew the People’s Choice via their early 70s 45s for the Phil-LA of Soul label (‘I Likes To Do It’ was R&B Top 10 in 1971), which were very early digging scores of mine during the first days of my Philly obsession.

Then, a few years later my man Tony C dropped a mix with a track that blew my mind, which opened up with a stunning version of this song (later featured in this very space after I managed to get my grubby little fingers on a copy of my own) by Louie Ramirez on Cotique (which can be heard in this past Friday’s Funky16Corners Radio Show).

It was only after that, that during a bit of dusty, outdoor, flea market digging that I happened upon a copy of the record you see before you today, which is of course the original (hit) version of the song by the People’s Choice.

As soon as I gave it a spin it was obvious that I had indeed heard it before, which spurred me to dig out my Billboard R&B chart book, which confirmed that ‘Do It Any Way You Wanna’ was a number one R&B hit and Top Ten pop hit in the summer of 1975, right smack in the middle of my AM radio listening years.

This is of course indicative of one variety of the diggers disease, wherein the obvious seems to get washed away in a torrent of obscurity, which happens to us all but still shames me when I manage to step in it (I really ought to know better).

That all said, the People’s Choice version of ‘Do It Any Way You Wanna’ is a prime piece of funky disco (disco-y funk?) with enough heat for the dance floor and enough edge for the ears, which goes a long way in explaining why it was such a big hit.

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

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.