Comments (1)

By Larry, July 1, 2014 12:53 pm

Miss Barbara Lynn

Listen/Download Barbara Lynn – I’m a Good Woman

Greetings all

Hows about traversing the middle of the week with something deep?

The record you see before you is one of those 45s that I chased for a long, long (loooong) time before I finally tackled it and tossed it into my record box.

‘I’m a Good Woman’ by Barbara Lynn is a popular side with DJs and collectors, and as a result it can be a little pricey and there’s a fair amount of competition when copies show up for sale.

This can be attributed 100 percent to the undeniable bad-ass-ness of the song/performance.

Barbara Lynn is one of the most underrated performers of the 60s and 70s, having had her biggest hit (‘You’ll Lose a Good Thing’) right out of the gate in 1962.

She wrote and recorded ‘I’m a Good Woman’ for the Tribe label in 1966,and despite its brilliance, it went exactly nowhere.

This might have something to do with the fact that ‘I’m a Good Woman’is something of a slow burner/builder.

It opens with a spellbinding (largely) a capella segment, and then starts stomping right away.

The rhythm section and the horns hit hard, and get harder as the song moves on.

I like to compare ‘I’m a Good Woman’ to a record like Tommy Tucker’s ‘Long Tall Shorty’, which starts off like a blues shuffle and turns into a buffalo stampede before you know it.

‘I’m a Good Woman’ is a solid dancer, which is why the DJs sweat it so hard.

All of that, and the fact that the song is a stone solid feminist statement.

Does it get any more plain spoken than ‘I’m a good woman, so don’t treat me like dirt!’ ?

No, it does not.

‘I’m a Good Woman’ has been covered over the years by artists like Cold Blood (very nice reading by Lydia Pense) and El Chicano, and there’s a very tasty modern cover by a UK group called Hannah Williams and the Tastemakers.

It is a killer.

Dig it and I’ll see you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 25, 2014 10:32 am

Carole King, Gerry Goffin and the Cookies

Listen/Download The Cookies – Chains

Greetings all

It is with this post that we resume regularly scheduled programming here at Funky16Corners.

I will take a moment here to give my deepest thanks to all of those that took part in the 2014 Allnighter and Pledge Drive, from the selectors that brought the heat, to the donors whose contributions will keep the lights on around here for another year.

This November will mark the tenth anniversary of the Funky16Corners Blog, and these pledge drives (this was the eighth year) always remind me of the generosity and dedication of the readership. That so many of you are willing to help keep this labor of love up and running warms my heart.

So thanks again, and stick around for more goodness.

__________________________________________________________________________________

I had something else lined up for today, but the word came down late last week that the great Gerry Goffin had passed away at the age of 75.

Whether or not you knew his name, you certainly knew the music he helped to create over a career that lasted half a century.

Starting in partnership with his then wife Carole King, Goffin wrote some of the most memorable pop and R&B songs of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

The list is incredibly long (flip on over to the Wikipedia article listing the charting hits from 1961 to 1989) and includes an amazing number of certifiable classics.

The sounds include straight pop, girl groups, R&B, soul and rock, many of them huge hits.

I was genuinely surprised to discover that following the dissolution of the Goffin-King marital and creative partnerships that Gerry Goffin continued to generate hits (with partners like Barry Goldberg and Michael Masser), including a number of very big R&B hits for artists like Gladys Knight and the Pips (I’ve Got To Use My Imagination), Diana Ross (The Theme From Mahogany), Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson (Tonight I Celebrate My Love) and Whitney Houston (Saving All My Love For You, originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.).

Though I count a numberof Goffin-King songs among my very favorites (especially the Monkees ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’) one of the first songs of theirs that drilled its was into my head was a tune called ‘Chains’.

The version I first heard (on the very first record I ever bought) was the cover by the Beatles.

The VeeJay LP ‘Introducing the Beatles’ was a gateway for me into R&B and soul, introducing me to the Shirelles (Boys, Baby It’s You), Arthur Alexander (Anna), The Isley Brothers (Twist and Shout) and (as on the record you see before you today), the Cookies and ‘Chains’.

Over the next few years, I would hear (and dig) the original versions of almost all of those songs, with the exception of the Cookies.

The group had a small string of hits in 1962 and 1963, of which ‘Chains’ was the first, but ‘Don’t Say Nothing Bad (About My Baby)’ was the biggest, making it into the Pop and R&B Top 10. It was the latter song that got airplay on oldies radio.

It wasn’t until many years later that I finally heard their version of ‘Chains’ (and only a few months ago that I finally got a copy of the 45).

The line up of Cookies that recorded ‘Chains’ was the second incarnation of the group, with members of the first version (which included Margie Hendrix) going on to join the Raeletts.

The Cookies Mk2, which provided backing vocals on a number of other artist’s (Little Eva, Mel Torme) records, included Earl-Jean McRea (the lead on ‘Chains’), who went on to record the original version of ‘I’m Into Something Good’, another Goffin-King song that went on to be a huge hit for Herman’s Hermits.

‘Chains’, which made the R&B Top 10 (and the Pop Top 20) in December of 1962 is a great bit of early girl group soul, driven by the group’s harmonies (and handclaps), a ringing rhythm guitar, a bass that sounds like it’s coming from the subway, and interjections from the horn section.

Interestingly enough, the record was also produced by Gerry Goffin!

All in all, a great record, and a great way to remember a truly great songwriter.

See you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

 NOTE: The winner of the ‘Soul City Los Angeles’ CD comp was Jeff Ash!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 22, 2014 1:49 pm

Funky16Corners: The New Breed
Homer Banks – A Lot of Love (Minit)
Robert Parker – Secret Service (Makes Me Nervous) (Nola)
Clyde McPhatter – A Shot of Rhythm and Blues (Amy)
Delores Hall – Good Lovin’ Man (Keymen)
Dusty Springfield – Can I Get a Witness (Philips)
Fabulous Emotions – Number One Fool (Tamboo)
JJ Barnes – Real Humdinger (Ric Tic)
Jackie Wilson – I’ve Lost You (Brunswick)
Linda Jones – You Can’t Take It (Loma)
Marvelettes – Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead (Tamla)
Madeline Bell – Picture Me Gone (Philips)
Ron Moody and the Centaurs – The New Breed (Columbia)
Al Greene and the Soul Mates – Don’t Leave Me (Hot Line Music Journal)
Betty Harris – Mean Man (Sansu)
Theresa Lindsey – I’ll Bet You (Golden World)
Vibrations – Soul a Go Go (Okeh)
Bobby Sockers – Sock It To Me Bobby (RCA)
Jimmy Holiday – Love Me One More Time (Diplomacy)
The Soul Finders – Sweet Soul Music (Camden)
The Monitors – Number One In Your Heart (VIP)
Glories – (I Love You Babe But) Give Me My Freedom (Date)
Mamie Galore – It Ain’t Necessary (St Lawrence)
ZZ Hill – Don’t Make Promises (Kent)
Soul Brothers Six – Thank You Baby For Loving Me (Atlantic)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: Funky16Corners: The New Breed!

NOTE: Today’s mix is the final entry in the Funky16Corners 2014 Allnighter/Pledge Drive, and as is always the case, it’s yours truly, the proprietor batting clean-up.

Funky16Corners: The New Breed represents the best dance floor soul that has dropped into my record box in the last several months.

There are some real killers here, and you will certainly see many of them (and their stories) featured on the blog in the coming year.

Once again, I’d like to thank all the selectors for their mixes, and all of you readers/listeners for coming by to check it out, and helping to keep Funky16Corners up and running!

I’ll be back on Wednesday with the regular stuff, so stay tuned!

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Contest!

Anyone that donates today to the Allnighter/Pledge Drive will (in addition to getting the badge and stickers) be entered into a random drawing for a copy of the Fantastic Voyage 2-CD collection ‘Soul City Los Angeles’, a compilation of West Coast soul from labels like Arvee, Alladin, Liberty, Imperial, Ebb and SAR!
This is the final drawing for the Funky16Corners 2014 Allnighter/Pledge Drive!

___________________________________________________________________________

The winner of the Fantastic Voyage ‘Youths Boogie’ 2-CD comp is Rebecca Pang!
___________________________________________________________________________

Greetings all

Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This is the ninth annual Pledge Drive, and the fifth Allnighter.

If you haven’t experienced the Allnighter/Pledge Drive, it can be explained as thus: once a year, the Funky16Corners Blog, your home for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for almost 10 years comes to you with hand outstretched, asking for donations to offset the operating expenses of the web site.

The Funky16Corners ‘operation’ (as it is) included the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg blogs, the mix archives for both (containing well over 200 mixes), and the Funky16Corners Radio Show/Podcast (another 200+ files available for download, or through subscription in iTunes).

The money raised during the pledge drive goes to pay for the server space and fees associated with hosting the whole megillah.

As has been attested to many times in the past, Funky16Corners has humble beginnings, starting out on the old (free) Blogger service, moving to WordPress, and then to self-hosted WordPress. The move to paid hosting was necessitated by increased bandwidth usage, as well as the need for a place to store all the mixes (and eventually the radio show episodes).

The Allnighter/Pledge Drive is a once-yearly occurrence, in which yours truly, and some of the finest selectors out there whip up new mixes for your delectation.

In past years, I have posted all of the mixes in a single post, and left it up for a week.

This year, the quality and quantity of the mixes spurred me on to try something a little different, i.e. posting a new mix each weekday for a period of just over two weeks. This way, each selector gets their moment in the spotlight, and the mixes get spaced out so that the listeners don’t suffer from mix-fatigue.

Each day, you’ll get a fantastic mix (there really are some amazing ones this year) from one of my favorite DJs, many of whom have participated in the Allnighter before, as well as a couple of great new contributors.

So, if you dig what we do here at Funky16Corners, click on the Paypal link and toss some cash into the barrel.

Contributors will receive a 2014 Allnighter badge, as well as some stickers from the archive (as long as they last).

This year I will also be drawing the names of contributors at random for groovy swag, including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul, and CDs from Light in the Attic and Secret Stash.

So, dig the sounds for the next couple of weeks, and make sure you stop back on a daily basis to pick up new mixes and contribute for a chance to win some cool stuff.

Thanks, and as always,

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 18, 2014 11:27 am

Vincent the Soul Chef – Life Is More Like a Box of Records!
01 Runaway Child Running Wild-Earl Van Dyke (Soul)
02 Jump Back-Rufus Thomas (Stax)
03 The Charge-Alvin Cash (Mar V Lus)
04 Buster Browne-Willie Mitchell (Hi)
05 Poppin Popcorn-South St. Soul Guitars (Silver Fox)
06 Uptight-Ramsey Lewis (Cadet)
07 Dance Dance Dance-Tommy Duncan (Falew!)
08 Just Ain’t Enough love-Isley Brothers (Tamla)
09 I Can’t Forget-Bull & The Matadors (Toddlin’ Town)
10 Try My Love Again-Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces (Checker)
11 New Love-The Fantastic Johnny C-Phil LA Of Soul
12 Don’t Be Sore At Me-The Parliaments (Revilot)
13 Girls On The Rocks-The Bob Crewe Generation (DynoVoice)
14 You Ain’t Ready-Lou Courtney (Riverside)
15 I’ll Take Those Skinny Legs-Syl johnson (Twinight)
16 Flower Power-The Sandpebbles (Calla)
17 Karate-The Emperors (Mala)
18 Instant Groove-King Curtis (Atco)
19 Look At Granny Run Run-Howard Tate (Verve)
20 Green Power-The Bagdads (Double Shot)
21 Listen To Me-The Esquires (Bunky)
22 Let My Heart And Soul Be Free-The Tan Geers (Okeh)
23 Let My People Go-Brother Jack McDuff (Caet)
24 Set your Soul On Fire-Jerry Washington (Excello)
25 Rocks In My Head-The 8th Day (Invictus)
26 You Are My Sunshine-Dyke & The Blazers (Original Sound)
27 Spooky-The Fame Gang (Atlantic)
28 Point It Out-Smokeu Robinson & The Miracles (Tamla)
29 Yeah You Right-The Sister & Brothers (UNI)
30 Master Of Eyes-Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
31 Tell Me-Willis Robinson & The JM’s Funk Factory (Saluda)

A note from Vincent:

It’s such a thrill every time I get to send some soulful vibes your way. Here’s a nice little timeline full of inspirational goodies from my newly remastered rips. Inspirational in that since I joined the social media bandwagon last week, Ive been floored by the outpouring of support from old friends and long time heroes. The tracks containd in this mix represent some of that recent inspiration, especially after listening to some episodes of F16C Radio and Gail Smith’s most amazing Work Your Soul series, just to name a few… Thanks to all of those who saw fit to friend a struggling cratedigger. You can visit me at mixcloud.com/fufustew fufustew.wordpress.com or facebook.com/vincent.soulchef

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: Vincent the Soul Chef – Life Is More Like a Box of Records!

NOTE: Today’s mix comes to us courtesy of my man Vincent the Soul Chef of the long-running Fufu Stew blog.

I got to know Vincent back in the day when he guested at the Asbury Park 45 Sessions, and his always excellent mixes have appeared in this space a few times over the years.

Like all the other selectors in this year’s line-up, Vincent has both taste and deep crates, the perfect combination when mixing soul.

Make sure to check out Fufu Stew when you get a chance.

See you tomorrow, for a spectacular Jamaican mix by DJ Bluewater!
Larry

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Contest!

Anyone that donates today to the Allnighter/Pledge Drive will (in addition to getting the badge and stickers) be entered into a random drawing for a copy of the Cultures of Soul reissue 45 of Emanuel Taylor’s ‘You Really Gota Hold On Me’ b/w ‘Society’ 45. Recorded and originally issued in 1978, Taylor was a Detroit singer in a Stevie Wonder-ish groove.
There will be more drawings over the next week for CDs by Fantastic Voyage, and 45s from Cultures of Soul!

___________________________________________________________________________

The winner of the Fantastic Voyage ‘Soul City Chicago’ 2-CD set is Jim Grathwohl !
___________________________________________________________________________

Greetings all

Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This is the ninth annual Pledge Drive, and the fifth Allnighter.

If you haven’t experienced the Allnighter/Pledge Drive, it can be explained as thus: once a year, the Funky16Corners Blog, your home for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for almost 10 years comes to you with hand outstretched, asking for donations to offset the operating expenses of the web site.

The Funky16Corners ‘operation’ (as it is) included the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg blogs, the mix archives for both (containing well over 200 mixes), and the Funky16Corners Radio Show/Podcast (another 200+ files available for download, or through subscription in iTunes).

The money raised during the pledge drive goes to pay for the server space and fees associated with hosting the whole megillah.

As has been attested to many times in the past, Funky16Corners has humble beginnings, starting out on the old (free) Blogger service, moving to WordPress, and then to self-hosted WordPress. The move to paid hosting was necessitated by increased bandwidth usage, as well as the need for a place to store all the mixes (and eventually the radio show episodes).

The Allnighter/Pledge Drive is a once-yearly occurrence, in which yours truly, and some of the finest selectors out there whip up new mixes for your delectation.

In past years, I have posted all of the mixes in a single post, and left it up for a week.

This year, the quality and quantity of the mixes spurred me on to try something a little different, i.e. posting a new mix each weekday for a period of just over two weeks. This way, each selector gets their moment in the spotlight, and the mixes get spaced out so that the listeners don’t suffer from mix-fatigue.

Each day, you’ll get a fantastic mix (there really are some amazing ones this year) from one of my favorite DJs, many of whom have participated in the Allnighter before, as well as a couple of great new contributors.

So, if you dig what we do here at Funky16Corners, click on the Paypal link and toss some cash into the barrel.

Contributors will receive a 2014 Allnighter badge, as well as some stickers from the archive (as long as they last).

This year I will also be drawing the names of contributors at random for groovy swag, including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul, and CDs from Light in the Attic and Secret Stash.

So, dig the sounds for the next couple of weeks, and make sure you stop back on a daily basis to pick up new mixes and contribute for a chance to win some cool stuff.

Thanks, and as always,

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 10, 2014 11:20 am

Tony C – On the Soul Side
Toussaint McCall Baby You Got it- Ronn
Cash McCall I’m In Danger Checker
Garnet Mimms Prove it– United Artists
Jackie Ross Dynamite Lovin’- Chess
Radiants Please Don’t leave me Chess
Mitty Collier Help Me- Chess
Patti Drew Sufferer- Capitol
Tina Britt Who Was That- Veep
Lord Luther Tough- Lusan
Billy Mack Too Much- Philips
Johnny Sayles The Concentration- Chi Town
Emanuel Lasky Don’t Lead Me On Baby- Thelma
The Sharpees Make Up Your Mind- One-derful
D C Ramblers Hangin’ In There- Keynote
Gunga Din Crabcakes- Valise
Sonny Shankle Just Enough- Watts Way
Thelma Jones Mr Fixit- Barry
Betty Everett Too Hot To Hold-Vee Jay
Danny White Miss Fine Fine Fine-Frisco
Willie Small How High Can You Fly-Jessica
Dee Dee Warwick House Of Gold-Mercury
Otis Clay Show Place-One-derful
Buddy Lamp My Tears-Double L
Jimmy Nelson Tell Me Who-Chess
Willie Mays If You Love Me- Duke
Harold Burrage I’ll Take One-M.Pac!
Big Jay Bush Dynamite-Redbug

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: Tony C – On the Soul Side

NOTE: Today’s mix is this year’s contribution from the fantastic Tony C.
Mr Crampton is – like every other selector participating in this year’s Allnighter a man of exquisite taste, and as a result, an influence on yours truly.
Tony always brings a solid selection of tracks to his Allnighter mixes, and as always, I come away with some additions to my want list.
‘On the Soul Side’ is a hard-hitting hour of classic-era soul that’ll have you out of your seat moving and grooving.
I hope you dig it as much as I do.
See you tomorrow,
Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

Contest!

Anyone that donates today to the Allnighter/Pledge Drive will (in addition to getting the badge and stickers) be entered into a random drawing for a copy of the fantastic new Lugnutbrand Records single ‘Number One’ b/w ‘Bikes’ by the M-Tet!

‘Number One’ brings to mind the sunny side of Booker T and the MGs with just a taste of UK Library-style goodness, brought to you by organist Gary Pitman. ‘Bikes’ digs in slow and funky, with some heavy guitar by Joe Magnant. The production by bassist Chris Lujan is spot on.

The M-Tet brings the old-school heat in a new-school package.

This is a very groovy 45 indeed (I got my own copy by contributing to the band’s Kickstarter) and you can expect to hear it on future episodes of the Funky16Corners Radio Show.

There will be more drawings over the next few weeks for CDs by Cultures of Soul, Light In the Attic and Secret Stash, and 45s from Cultures of Soul!

___________________________________________________________________________

The winner of yesterday’s drawing for the ‘DJ Andy Smith’s Jam Up Twist’ CD is David Wykoff!

____________________________________________________________________________

Greetings all

Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This is the ninth annual Pledge Drive, and the fifth Allnighter.

If you haven’t experienced the Allnighter/Pledge Drive, it can be explained as thus: once a year, the Funky16Corners Blog, your home for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for almost 10 years comes to you with hand outstretched, asking for donations to offset the operating expenses of the web site.

The Funky16Corners ‘operation’ (as it is) included the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg blogs, the mix archives for both (containing well over 200 mixes), and the Funky16Corners Radio Show/Podcast (another 200+ files available for download, or through subscription in iTunes).

The money raised during the pledge drive goes to pay for the server space and fees associated with hosting the whole megillah.

As has been attested to many times in the past, Funky16Corners has humble beginnings, starting out on the old (free) Blogger service, moving to WordPress, and then to self-hosted WordPress. The move to paid hosting was necessitated by increased bandwidth usage, as well as the need for a place to store all the mixes (and eventually the radio show episodes).

The Allnighter/Pledge Drive is a once-yearly occurrence, in which yours truly, and some of the finest selectors out there whip up new mixes for your delectation.

In past years, I have posted all of the mixes in a single post, and left it up for a week.

This year, the quality and quantity of the mixes spurred me on to try something a little different, i.e. posting a new mix each weekday for a period of just over two weeks. This way, each selector gets their moment in the spotlight, and the mixes get spaced out so that the listeners don’t suffer from mix-fatigue.

Each day, you’ll get a fantastic mix (there really are some amazing ones this year) from one of my favorite DJs, many of whom have participated in the Allnighter before, as well as a couple of great new contributors.

So, if you dig what we do here at Funky16Corners, click on the Paypal link and toss some cash into the barrel.

Contributors will receive a 2014 Allnighter badge, as well as some stickers from the archive (as long as they last).

This year I will also be drawing the names of contributors at random for groovy swag, including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul, and CDs from Light in the Attic and Secret Stash.

So, dig the sounds for the next couple of weeks, and make sure you stop back on a daily basis to pick up new mixes and contribute for a chance to win some cool stuff.

Thanks, and as always,

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, May 22, 2014 11:59 am

The Mighty Esquerita!

Listen/Download Eskew Reeder – Green Door

Greetings all

The end of the week is upon us, so that means that it’s also Funky16Corners Radio Show time! You can pile it all into your ears each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, or you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 at the Radio Show Archive here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a very solid sender indeed, brought to you by the mighty Eskew Reeder (aka Esquerita, aka SQ Reeder).

I remember first hearing about Esquerita back in the 80s via the mighty Kicks magazine (the greatest zine that ever was and a HUGE influence on yours truly).

Esquerita was one of the legendary madmen of R&B and rock’n’roll, an influence on none other than Little Richard, and a cat who made some very groovy music of his own over the years.

The song ‘Green Door’ was first recorded in 1956 as a novelty tune by DJ Jim Lowe.

The Eskew Reeder version was waxed way down yonder in New Orleans with the assistance of none other than the mighty Allen Toussaint.

Reeder’s version is largely an organ instrumental. He was mainly a pianist but displays a solid facility on the organ, even if he appears to begin soloing with his elbows about halfway through the record.

You also get a couple of vocal interjections by Eskew along the way.

This version is (like the Wynder K Frog cover from a few years later that leans heavily on it for inspiration) a dance floor banger, and if this doesn’t get the folks twisting and shaking, you need to check them for a pulse.

Esquerita’s career and discography were pretty spotty after the mid-60s, and by the time he was rediscovered in NYC in the 80s he was parking cars and playing in dives.

Sadly, he passed away from AIDS complications in 1986.

His spirit is carried on by the folks at Norton (it’s Esquerita’s mug that greets you when you hit their website) in the form of much music and ephemera.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, May 6, 2014 12:04 pm

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1965
(L-R) Bloomfield, Butterfield, Lay, Bishop, Arnold (not pictured, Mark Naftalin)

Listen/Download The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Born In Chicago

Listen/Download The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Get Out of My Life Woman

Greetings all

The middle of the week is here, so I thought I’d whip something a little unusual (for here, anyway) into your ears.
Those of you past a certain age will likely be familiar with the name Paul Butterfield.

Butterfield – harp player and vocalist – was one of the movers and shakers of the blues scene in the 1960s.

The band he led – unsurprisingly going by the name The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – was hot as hell, as well as serving as an incubator for talent, incubating  guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop.

Formed in 1964 in Chicago with Mike Bloomfield (both he and Butterfield were Chitown natives) and University of Chicago student Bishop, local heavies Sam Lay (on drums) and Jerome Arnold (brother of Billy Boy Arnold on bass) and later adding Mark Naftalin on keyboards, the Butterfield Blues Band had a sound that was rooted firmly in electric Chicago blues.

What made it stand out – aside from an embarrassment of riches in the talent department – was a willingness to experiment with rock and jazz styles and interesting cover material.

The first tune featured today – ‘Born In Chicago’, written by Nick Gravenites who would later join Bloomfield and Buddy Miles in the Electric Flag– was the lead-off track from the groups self-titled 1965 debut. It is a wailing slice of rocking blues, featuring blazing harp solos by Butterfield and wailing leads by Bloomfield.

The second track is a cover of Lee Dorsey’s ‘Get Out of My Life Woman’, from the group’s second LP, ‘East-West’ from 1966. Unlike most covers of the tune, the Butterfield Blues Band dispenses with the opening drum break. They take the tune a slightly more brisk pace than the original, adding in some tasty piano work by Naftalin.

‘East-West’ also includes a very groovy version of the Monkees ‘Mary Mary’.

Though the original lineup was all but gone by 1967’s ‘The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw’, the BBB continued to meld blues and R&B and kept rolling on into the 1970s.

They played at Woodstock (with none other than David Sanborn on sax) but were not included in the original film (there are clips of the band playing the festival).

That all said, you can find all of the BBB’s best stuff in digital reissue, and copies of their stuff turns up frequently in used bins (those first three LPs are all worth grabbing).

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 1, 2014 10:59 am

Say what,now?

Listen/Download Plookie McCline – Gorilla Walk

Greetings all

The week is nearing its inevitable conclusion, so that means it’s time to remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show will return once again to the airwaves of the interwebs this (and every) Friday night at 9Pm on Viva Radio. You can also keep up with things by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or by grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a slice of gritty, slightly deranged R&B from the streets of Chicago.

I picked up this 45 years ago during the early days of my Jerry-O obsession, when I cast my dragnet far and wide, picking up whatever I could find associated with the master.

Charles ‘Plookie’ McCline is something of a mystery (he doesn’t even get a mention in Robert Pruter’s comprehensive ‘Chicago Soul’). He appears to have recorded a handful of 45s for the Jerry-O/Larry-O labels around 1963, some of which were also issued under the name ‘Willie Logan and the Plaids’.

Today’s selection, which was released late in 1963 was the flipside of ‘Uncle Willy’, a tune no doubt meant to tie in to the local dance craze of the same name.

As fine as that side is, you simply must flip it over to wrap your ears around one of the roughest, craziest bits of Chicago madness ever pressed into wax.

There are points where ‘Gorilla Walk’ sounds like it was lifted from the soundtrack of one of those old Bela Lugosi tropical zombie movies.

To describe the proceedings as ‘lo-fi’ would be both accurate and charitable.

It sounds like the band and the singers were crammed into a broom closet with equipment from the early days of sound recording*.

The backing vocals are – not to put too fine a point on it – wailed, and the saxophone sounds like it and its player had only a passing acquaintance.

The lead vocal by Mr McCline is pretty straight ahead, and the guitar is pretty groovy too.

Make sure to slap this one on the next time you’re in the midst of a drunken mob.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

 *Interestingly enough, the production is credited to Jerry-O and the arrangment to Milt Bland aka Monk Higgins!

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, April 22, 2014 11:20 am

Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton

Listen/Download Big Mama Thornton – Wade In the Water

UPDATE: I just found out that Cultures of Soul has just reissued ‘Wade In the Water’ on 45 as part of the Andy Smith’s Jam Up Twist box set. It’s a great collection (put together by a great DJ) and a fantastic way to get this burner – among others – on 45.

Greetings all

The middle of the week is here and so in service of defeating the doldrums, I bring you something guaranteed to melt your face, and/or make your hair stand on end.

I do not recall where I first heard Big Mama Thornton’s epic reading of ‘Wade In the Water’ but I do remember being knocked back on my heels.

I have already mentioned in this space that the song in question is a big favorite of mine, and as such I like to pick up new versions wherever I find them.

What is most interesting is the fact that ‘Wade In the Water’ is at its base a gospel song with roots in the underground railroad.

Though is has been rerecorded in a number of non-gospel settings, most of those (or at least the ones I’m familiar with) were usually instrumental (though the rock version by Clover is a marked exception).

The version you see before you today, by Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton takes the song, strips it down to a skeletal framework (tossing the ‘gospel’ out the window) and rebuilds it as something else entirely.

Most people know of Big Mama Thornton for her original recordings of ‘Hound Dog’ (later done by Elvis) and ‘Ball and Chain’ (turned into a showcase by Janis Joplin).

Thornton. A singer, harp player and drummer had been recording blues and R&B since the early 1950s.

By the mid-1960s she had relocated to the San Francisco Bay area, and started recording for Arhoolie records.

She recorded ‘Wade In the Water’ in 1968, and it was released as a 45 (rare and expensive) but also released on the compilation ‘Ball and Chain’ (released in 1968 and 1974 and much less expensive).

Her version burns rubber like a top fuel dragster (one friend has referred to it as ‘the punk rock version’) and just gets faster and harder as it goes on. Big Mama wails, and the guitar solo by Bee Houston is killer.

It’s hard to listen to a record this elemental and singularly powerful without wondering why it wasn’t a hit.

The likely explanation is that it was a record ‘out of time’. It is light years heavier than most rock music from the time, and I can’t imagine what it must have sounded like to the blues fest crowds that she was playing to at the time.

It’s a lot closer to the MC5 than it is to Muddy Waters.

This, in addition to the fact that lyrically, Thornton divorces the song completely from its gospel roots, choosing instead to rebuild the lyrics as a loose, bluesy riff serving only to deliver her remarkable voice. It’s as if someone harnessed a hurricane and pressed it into the grooves of a record.

Heavy, heavy stuff.

I hope you dig it as much as I do.

See you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 10, 2014 1:34 pm

The Mighty Harvey Fuqua

Listen/Download Harvey – Any Way You Wanta

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which lights up the wireless each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you aren’t able to dig it at airtime, you can always keep up by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or by grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

I thought I’d end the week with something very groovy.

The first time I heard ‘Any Way You Wanta’ by Harvey (courtesy of my man Michael Newman) I pretty much flipped my wig.

There’s a Latin term (dropped here from time to time), ‘sui generis’ meaning ‘in a class or group of its own’ or ‘not like anything else’.

If ever there was a 45 for which this term was seemingly invented, ‘Any Way You Wanta’ is it, brother.

It pays to start by mentioning that Harvey, was in fact Harvey Fuqua, late of the Moonglows (they even take the time to mention that fact on the label). Fuqua had had a solid and very interesting career prior to this record, recording with the Moonglows, and duetting with Etta James on Chess.

He eventually found his way to Detroit, where he fell in with the various and sundry figures that would eventually give birth to the Motown organization.

Fuqua worked with Anna Gordy (sister of Berry), married Gwen Gordy (their other sister, who co-wrote this 45) and in addition to work on the Anna label (home to Barrett Strong’s ‘Money’) started his own Tri-Phi and Harvey labels where he would record a number of artists that would end up on Motown, like the Spinners, Junior Walker and Shorty Long.

‘Any Way You Wanta’ was recorded in 1962, but sounds like it could have come from anytime in the previous five years, or from Mars or some other crazy place.

The musical backing is fairly simple and straight ahead, but the vocals are – in the words of the kids – cray cray.

Ho-lee-shizzle, there’s a reason this record is sweated bigtime (and pulls in serious coin), and that is because it is possessed of a kind of odd magic that sounds like a mixture of pure enthusiasm, Tarzan, glue-sniffing and that wolf from the old Tex Avery cartoons.

Harvey spends the better part of two minutes and forty five seconds singing, howling, stuttering, calling out dance steps and occasionally throwing in whatever he can pull from his grab bag.

It’s really something else, though perhaps too much so, since I can only find one instance of ‘Any Way You Wanta’ charting anywhere, and not very high or for very long.

That said, since its inception, ‘Any Way You Wanta’ has become a big favorite of soul/R&B fans, even finding its way onto Northern Soul playlists.

Harvey Fuqua went on to be an important figure in the history of soul, as a songwriter, producer, performer and discoverer of artists like Marvin Gaye, New Birth and Sylvester.

He was a very serious cat indeed, passing away in 2010 at the age of 80.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, March 18, 2014 10:36 am

Listen/Download Willie Tomlin – Check Me Baby

Greetings all

I thought we’d do the middle of the week with a fairly new arrival in the Funky16Corners crates.

A buddy of mine puts up a sales list every few weeks, and since he a collector (of no small taste) himself, the offerings are always very interesting.

The last time he put up some 45s on eBay, there was one in particular that caught my eye, and then (naturally) my ear.

I had never heard of Willie Tomlin, and I’m guessing that if you don’t already own this record, you haven’t either.

It would appear that he recorded only one 45, and when it was done, was so satisfied with the badassery therein, he vowed never to record another.

‘Check Me Baby’, which was released in 1969 is a recitation of what has been known on the streets as a very strong pimp hand.

Willie (who I’m assuming from the sounds on both sides of this 45 was a blues-based cat with a foot in the world of soul) lays down a laundry list of how-bad-am-I-isms that’ll blow your mind.

The delivery is oddly off-hand, as if Willie was wandering through the studio with a couple of fine ladies draped on his arms and stopped to whip a world-class brag on the crowd.

‘I wear my Botany 500 when I Funky Broadway

My Petrocelli when I Philly Freeze…

I spend a G-note nightly just to keep the girls mine…

I buy my suits from Hippie Land – Cal-eye-phone-eye-ay…

I mean check me baby, I’m one cat that’s clean

All the girls call me to see the soul of the new breed

Six feet deuce baby, teased and tan, a healthy hunk of any woman’s man

I mean like check me, I’m one cat that’s clean…

And on, and on, with the private plane expensive cologne, Moroccan leather shoes, jade cufflinks, diamond watch etc etc

Though he doesn’t say so, you know there’s a revolver and a straight razor in there somewhere.

This is certainly not the first (or the only) brag-fest set to vinyl, but it is unique in its breadth and the matter-of-factness of its delivery.

Like I said, I can’t find any information on Willie Tomlin, especially any trace of any additional recordings.

If you know any different, drop me a line.

See you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

PS Willie was such a badass, he apparently moved the Rocky Mountains to Maine.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, March 16, 2014 12:56 pm

Jimmy Holiday

Listen/Download Jimmy Holiday – The New Breed

Listen/Download Jimmy Holiday – Love Me One More Time

Listen/Download Ron Moody and the Centaurs – The New Breed

Greetings all

I hope the new week finds you all welland in rapt anticipation of the oncoming Spring (despite all meteorological evidence to the contrary).

Today’s selections come to you well in advance of my original plans, thanks to a special request from a reader.

Naturally the story of how I got this record is quite convoluted (aren’t they all?).

A while back, a friend on Facebook posted a clip of a song called ‘The New Breed’ by a band called Ron Moody and the Centaurs.

It was a very groovy song indeed, and a little bit of research revealed that they were a white R&B band from Richmond, Virginia who recorded one 45, ‘The New Breed’ b/w ‘If I Didn’t Have a Dime’.

I wanted a copy of the 45, so I added it to my watch list and grabbed it when it popped up.

This is where things move into the ‘easier said than done’ category.

The package arrived, and I opened it to find…the wrong record.

I contact the seller who says that he must have sent the Ron Moody 45 to some guy in Germany (who was supposed to get the record that I got) and as soon as he gets it back from him, he’ll send it to me.

I figured I was never going to see the 45, but after going back and forth with the seller for a few months, it finally showed up!

I’m glad it did because the Centaurs version swings in a Beach Music stylee (the group had a following on that scene) and is very cool.

So I dig a little deeper and discover that ‘The New Breed’ was in fact a cover, having been originally recorded by a singer named Jimmy Holiday.

While the Centaurs version was cool, it paled (no pun intended) in comparison to Holiday’s original.

So I figured (as I always do…) that I ought to find myself a copy of the OG.

I checked Ebay (usually a good, basic gauge of whether or not a record is readily available), found a copy (graded VG) for five bucks and pulled the trigger.

When the record arrived, I discovered that the seller had under-graded the 45 (always cool) and also that the flip-side, ‘Love Me One More Time’ was a killer as well.

As it turns out, Jimmy Holiday was an interesting cat, indeed.

He recorded frequently through the 60s and early 70s, waxing more than two dozen 45s (and at least one LP) for labels like Everest, Diplomacy and Minit, all the while working as a songwriter, co-writing ‘Put A Little Love In your Heart’ for Jackie DeShannon, and working as a staff writer for Ray Charles’s Tangerine label.

He had a Top 10 R&B hit with “How Can I Forget’ in 1963 and placed one record a year into the R&B Top 40 in 1966, 1967 and 1968, as well as scoring a minor regional hit in a duet with Clydie King on ‘Ready, Willing and Able’ in 1967.

‘The New Breed’ b/w ‘Love Me One More Time’ was the first of his two 45s for the Diplomacy label in 1965*.

‘The New Breed’ is a hard charging floor-filler, with propulsive rhythm guitar and piano and a powerful horn section.

‘Love Me One More Time’ has a slightly heavier R&B edge, with a wailing vocal by Holiday.

The arrangements are by Jimmy Long who did a lot of work for Motown (Temptations, Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips).

Sadly, Jimmy Holiday passed away in 1989, at the age of only 52.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

*’The New Breed’ was also issued on Kent in 1967 but replacing ‘Love Me One More Time’ with a tune called ‘I Can’t Stand It’

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.