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By Larry, November 3, 2016 12:04 pm

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Funky16Corners: Keep On Keepin’ On

Woody Herman – Fanfare for the Common Man (Fantasy)
Timmy Thomas – Why Can’t We Live Together (Glades)
Staple Singers – Step Aside (Epic)
NF Porter – Keep On Keepin’ On (Lizard)
Odetta – My God and I (Polydor)
Diamond Joe – Fair Play (Minit)
King Curtis – For What It’s Worth (Atco)
William DeVaughn – Be Thankful For What You Got (Roxbury)
Joe South – Games People Play (Capitol)
Brenda Lee- Walk a Mile In My Shoes (Decca)
Cymande – The Message (Janus)
Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come (Island)
Sly and the Family Stone – Stand (Epic)
Gladys Knight and the Pips – Friendship Train (Soul)
Lee Dorsey – Yes We Can (Polydor)
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee – People Get Ready (A&M)
Curtis Mayfield – We’re a Winner (Live) (Curtom)
Otis Redding – Change Is Gonna Come (Volt)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners: Keep On Keepin’ On 115MB Mixed MP3

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Greetings all.

This is a heavy one, so strap yourselves in.

I have taken time to address social/political issues a few times over the years, including Presidential elections, mid-terms and police violence.

Funky16Corners has never been primarily concerned with such matters, but there is no escaping the fact that when dealing with black music created during the classic soul era, you are listening to sounds forged on the anvil of the civil rights era.

I used to assume that anyone with a love for this music would understand how much racism, violence and the struggle to defeat both had to do with the music I feature here, but sadly I have discovered that this is not always true (like every time I post something along these lines).

This year’s election is starkly different from those of the past for several reasons, but first and foremost because of the rise of Hate (you didn’t think I was going to do him the honor of using his name, did you?).

Hate is an existential threat to this country, not only because he leads the Republican Party, which has been doing everything in its power to hobble government and its capacity to do good for the last four decades, but because of the poisons that he has stirred into the process.

Hate has taken the GOP’s once (barely) covert flirtations with racism, sexism, religious hatred, xenophobia and anti-government zealotry and placed them front and center, making them the core elements of its campaign for President.

Mirroring similar right wing movements around the world, Hate and the Republicans have taken advantage of anger and anxiety over the death of white hegemony and tossed gasoline onto a smoldering fire, making legions of hateful, scared (and often well-armed) people comfortable speaking the unspeakable and acting on those same fears and hatreds.

This, combined with horrifying levels of voter apathy, a dying press and the rise of an electronic media that further truncates the shortened attention span of a growing number of people, has allowed a media virus with an utter lack of competency, intellect, empathy or history of public service a chance to lead this country.

And if the only problem was that he was unqualified, it would be bad enough, but he is a singularly horrible person. Dishonest, arrogant, hateful, racist, sexist, vain, and patently incurious about anything that doesn’t satiate his base desires for social and sexual domination, further inflate his diseased ego, or add more money to his bank account.

He professes business acumen, yet leaves in his wake countless lawsuits, multiple bankruptcies, as well as scores of unpaid vendors, and his refusal to honor traditional levels of financial disclosure suggests that things are even worse than they seem.

There are those that would have you believe that the rise of Hate can be tied to the slow, painful death of the middle class and the loss of manufacturing jobs in this country, yet he has provided no evidence that he knows how to fix the problem, and has very likely contributed to it.

Every election is important, but this one is especially so. It is the very definition of a tipping point, as well as a defining moment in the history of the United States.

This is the moment when we discover if the American Experiment has failed, and if we as a people have any interest in the continued existence of the nation, or if we simply wish to burn it to the ground.

The time to realize that your vote is not merely a method of personal expression, but a mark of participation in a democracy, in which we strive to cooperate with our fellow citizens to honor the sacrifices made for this country, demonstrate the humility needed to admit to, and correct the mistakes made along the way, and the strength and vision to make this union a stronger one.

The key word in that last paragraph is one we don’t hear very much these days: humility.

Webster lists the simple definition of the word as “the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people”.

We are fighting to demonstrate that humility is a possibility, and a crucial part of a democracy. We are faced with a force to which humility is anathema, seen not as a strength, but a fatal weakness. A force that wields nationalism/jingoism as a hammer with which to smite their enemies, real and perceived.

But unless we can show that we are capable of humility, by owning up to the dark chapters of our history (and our present) we will never be able to face down Hate.

No matter how much these people struggle, white superiority will die. It’s only a matter of when, and how much damage is done as it claws its way down the drain.

We need to remember that even though Freedom of Religion is enshrined in the Bill of Rights, this is, and always has been a secular country and efforts to impose religious doctrine on the population in general is a refutation of the Constitution.

We need to put an end to the idea that this country exists to serve the needs of business, destroying the financial security of our people, and the health of the environment to line the pockets of corporate interests.

We need to re-emphasize the fact that the police exist to protect and serve all of us, acknowledge the social and economic forces that create crime, and foster those that do away with it.

We need to acknowledge the level to which guns have become a destructive force in this country and realize that reasonable regulation is needed.

And most of all, there needs to be a renaissance of civic engagement. Participation in democracy through voting is essential, and realizing that if we do not participate, all of the important choices will be made for you by those that do.

So, what I ask of you is that you stop, and think.

Think about your fellow man.

Think about women.

Think about how we treat and educate our children.

Think about people of different faiths.

Think about your LGBTQ brothers and sisters.

Think about how the way you live, and the policies you support effect other people, here at home and in other countries.

Think about your privilege.

Think, and vote.

It’s not much to ask.

If you believe that America is truly great, display it to the world through our work and example.

The mix I’m posting today (and leaving up for a while) is largely one of recognition and optimism. I believe that we have it in us to weather this storm and continue on doing the good work that identifies us as a nation.

Do yourself a favor and listen to the words in the songs. There are a lot of heavy ones in there.

I will close by making two requests.

The first: VOTE.

The second, as always (and in all ways),

Keep the Faith

Larry

PS Don’t forget the very special Election episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, dropping this Friday, 11/4!
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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, October 25, 2016 9:58 am

Funky16Corners: You Gotta Have Soul!
An Hour of Soul and Funk Instrumentals

Booker T and the MGs – One Mint Julep (Stax)
Brothers and Sisters – Shake a Lady (Capitol)
Travis Wammack – Karate Time (Atlantic)
Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band – Brown Sugar (WB)
Chip and Dave – 7th Round (Sure Star)
Daddy Kae Trio – Shug!!! (Fairmount)
Lloyd Price Orchestra – I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Turntable)
E Rodney Jones – R&B Time Pt2 (Tuff)
Marketts – Richie’s Theme (WB)
Buena Vistas – Here Comes the Judge (Marquee)
Ricky Allen – Skate Boogaloo (Bright Star)
Sam Rhodes – Shake Your Soul Honey (Inst) (Capitol)
Alvin Cash and the Registers – No Deposit No Return (Mar V Lus)
Soul Machine – Twitchie Feet (Pzazz)
Leon and the Burners – Crack Up (Josie)
Johnny Watson – Coke (Okeh)
Little Sonny – Latin Soul (Revilot)
Gravities (Johnny Newton’s Band) – Do the Whip (Inst) (Mercury)
Sandy Nelson – I Don’t Need No Doctor (Imperial)
El Dorados – New Breed (Port)
The Peddlers – Steel Mill (CBS UK)
EJ’s Ltd – Black Bull (Back Beat)
Noble Watts – F.L.A. (Brunswick)
Les Demerle – The Raven (UA)
Soul Continentals – Bowlegs (Sound Stage 7)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents – You Gotta Have Soul 112MB/256K Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

The mix you see before you today is something I whipped up a while back for the great This Is Tomorrow blog.

It features a solid of of soul and funk instrumentals, guaranteed to make you get outcha seat and onto the floor (whether your dancing, or just on the floor is up to you).

There are a grip of recent acquisitions, including many tunes that have not appeared on the blog or the radio show before.

As always I hope that you dig it, and I’ll be back with some more stuff 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (6)

By Larry, October 4, 2016 10:04 am

Johnny Gibson

Listen/Download – Johnny Gibson Trio – Beachcomber MP3

Greetings all.

I have a very cool one today, that goes way, way back in my crates, yet took me years to kind of figure out.

I picked up ‘Beachcomber’ by the Johnny Gibson Trio years ago in one of periodic Hammond 45 sweeps. As soon as I got it, and slipped it under the needle I discovered that it had been mis-identified (as an organ instro) by the seller. I was bummed, but it wasn’t expensive enough to make an issue of it (and buyer beware and all that) so into storage it went, forgotten for years.

Flash forward a few after that and I find myself in possession of a 1967 45 by the Semi-Colons? (question mark part of the name, stick with me) performing a song of the same name.

I really dug it, and discovered in short order that the Semi-Colons? Were actually Question Mark and the Mysterians performing under an alias.

What was also cool was that the song ‘Beachcomber’ was originally written and recorded by none other than Bobby Darin in 1960.

It was only much later (after I had already written by the Semi-Colons? 45 over at Iron Leg) that I dug the Johnny Gibson Trio 45 out of a box and realized that it was a cover of the very same song.

I flipped it back onto the turntable, and it kind of blew my mind.

I have often described the experience of a kind of seasoning/maturing of the ear, in which experience allows you to understand/appreciate a piece of music much more deeply because of all that you have heard/learned between the first time you heard it and the present.

Johnny Gibson Trio in a Billboard listing, 1964

When I finally gave the Johnny Gibson version of ‘Beachcomber’ a listen I wasn’t sitting there with visions of Hammond organs wailing in my imagination. My ears were wide open, and as soon as I heard that slightly distorted electric piano, and the relaxed, yet still deep in the groove tempo, all was well with the world.

Then (yes, it gets better) when I started to dig into the history of the Johnny Gibson Trio, another chapter in the small but interesting story was revealed.

Pianist Johnny Gibson, his brother Dwight (on drums) and bassist Ron Haste (an integrated trio, the Gibsons were African American and Haste was white) were a Toledo, Ohio group that recorded ‘Beachcomber’ for the local Twirl label in 1964, which became a local hit and was picked up for national distribution by the Laurie label. The group went on to record a few more singles for the Big Top label before breaking up.

‘Beachcomber’ was a Top 20 hit in Ohio and Detroit, which is where the Mysterians (natives of Saginaw, MI) first heard it and added it to their repertoire.

The Johnny Gibson Trio version of ‘Beachcomber’ has built up a following over the years, eventually becoming a favorite on the dance floors in the UK.

Though the Trio broke up, Gibson continued to work as a musician, eventually relocating to Europe.

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 18, 2016 10:26 am

Tommy Wills (seriously…)

Listen/Download – Tommy Wills – Funky Sax MP3

Greetings all.

As I was pulling selections from the to-be-blogged folder, I grabbed the 45 you see before you today.

If you dig anywhere east of the Mississippi (maybe west, too) Tommy Wills 45s are a pretty common sight. On variations of the familiar, blue Airtown and Juke labels (and several others, too) Wills cuts like the sought after ‘KC Drive’ and ‘(Funky) 4 Corners’ are always nice to find.

That said, though I’ve included Wills cuts in mixes, before I sat down to research this record I knew nothing about him.

My assumption had always been that he was in all likelihood a journeyman R&B/soul musician, and also (probably) black.

Well, as Felix Unger was wont to say, “When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME” (right on, Felix).

Turns out not only was Tommy Wills a white guy, but he was a fairly straight-looking middle aged white guy who was well into his 40s when he made these records.

The odd thing is, that for a guy who put out as much music as he did, and was still active as late as 2009, touring with a big band, there’s not a lot of info out there.

Wills apparently ran the Airtown/Juke labels (according to a 1970 issue of Billboard) based alternately out of Dayton, OH (thus the Airtown designation) and Indiana, putting out his own 45s (mostly on Airtown), and (on Juke) records by Dumpy Piano Rice and a variety of R&B, country and polka performers. The labels appear to have been set up to provide jukebox filler, thus the high frequency of covers and the wide variety of styles.

The Wills 45s I have are all pretty cool, and today’s selection, ‘Funky Sax’ is no exception.

Released in 1968, ‘Funky Sax’ has a Junior Walker flavor, with a soulful backing and some wailing sax by Wills. There’s also a very tasty organ solo (I have no idea who’s playing) and the overall effect is very groovy. I mean, since he was feeding jukeboxes, he called the tune ‘Funky Sax’, filled it with funky sax, so that when someone walked up to the Wurlitzer and dropped in their nickel, what they got was….get ready…funky sax.

I’m not sure if Wills is still around (he’d be 92 if he is), but as I said, most of his 45s are pretty easy pulls.

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

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 6, 2016 11:39 am

Booker T and the MGs

Listen/Download – Booker T and the MGs- No Matter What Shape MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well, embracing the post-Labor Day warmth.

Here at the Jersey Shore, I’m enjoying the sudden excess of elbow room, now that the summer invasion is over. It’s a nice feeling to be able to get a cup of coffee, or some groceries without fighting a mob to do it.

This may not men much to those of you outside of tourist traps, but the psychic weight that is lifted off when the tourists finally go home is remarkable.

That said, today’s selection is a perfect soundtrack for that ‘vacation is over but I’m still digging the warmth’ feeling.

You all know that Booker T and the MGs were giants of Memphis soul, and I’m here to remind you that their album tracks were often as groovy as their hit 45s.

Their cover of the T-Bones 1965 hit ‘No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)’ was something of a revelation when I first heard it.

You see, the original, while a very groovy instro (played by the cream of the Wrecking Crew), was based on an Alka Seltzer jingle, and not remotely like anything you’d expect the law firm of Jones, Cropper, Jackson and Dunn to lay into.

Even so, Booker and band were so skillful, locked into such a mighty groove, that they were able to take something so utterly un-soulful, and transform it into a wonderfully groovy thing.

Thanks in large part to Duck Dunn and Al Jackson’s sock soul rhythm section, Booker T’s jazzy organ and a subtly tremeloed guitar by Steve Cropper, ‘No Matter What Shape’ is turned from a sprightly, somewhat monotonous AM radio thang, into a perfect, end of summer, you wanna (but don’t hafta) dance, head nodder of the first order.

Included on the MGs 1966 ‘And Now!’ LP (which also included the two-sided R&B hit single ‘My Sweet Potato’ b/w ‘Booker Loo’), it is one of the highlights of an excellent album (the version of ‘One Mint Julep’ is one of my favorite MGs cuts).

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, September 1, 2016 11:38 am

Mickey and the Soul Generation

Listen/Download – Mickey and the Soul Generation – Football MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com.

I thought we’d end the week with another groovy instrumental, this time pulled from the catalog of the mighty Mickey and the Soul Generation.

Best known for the awe inspiring ‘Iron Leg’, Mickey and the Soul Generation were a multi-racial funk outfit from San Antonio, Texas, that recorded for the Texas labels Mr G, GC and Omega, and had two of their 45s picked up for national distribution on the Maxwell label (also home to Ben E King and Faith, Hope and Charity).

‘Football’ was released in 1970 as the B-side to ‘Joint Session’ and is as jazzy and fast moving as ‘Iron Leg’ is slow, heavy and grinding.

You get lots of organ, saxophone and guitar, and the band making plenty of party noises in the background.

The cool thing is, that the flip is tasty, too, and as far as hot funk 45s go, Mickey and the Soul Generation’s Maxwell sides aren’t terribly expensive.

You can also pick up the awesome reissue comp put out by the Numero Group.

I hope you dig the sounds, 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 30, 2016 10:27 am

Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers

Listen/Download – The Soul Brothers – Horsing Around MP3

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today is yet another, perhaps more obscure chapter in the story of Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers.

As has been recounted in this space many a time, Gordon and his band came out of the Carolinas and made themselves a name and a career in New York.

They recorded for a number of labels in the 60s – Enrica, Capitol, RCA, Wand, Estill, Phil LA of Soul – and their 45s are all excellent and worth picking up.

The disc you see before you was a 1968 release, and as the title and the sound of the record will reveal was created in the wake of, and in an attempt to cash in on, the success of Cliff Nobles & Co’s ‘The Horse’, a massive hit in ’68 and an extremely influential disc, in and out of Philadelphia.

Newmiss was a shortlived label with a brief discography that seems to have been based out of Chicago (or at least focused on mostly Chitown artists, Mr Gordon and the band excepted).

‘Horsing Around’ is a funky, fast-moving side that as I said above, works around the basic ‘Horse’ framework, with a galloping beat and a blazing horn section.

As far as I know, this is the only side billed exclusively to the Soul Brothers.

It’s a groovy one, and I hope you dig it.

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, August 16, 2016 12:36 pm

Bobby Hutcherson

Listen/Download – Bobby Hutcherson feat. Harold Land – Ummh MP3

Listen/Download – Bobby Hutcherson feat. Harold Land – Goin’ Down South MP3

Greetings all.

I woke up this morning to the extremely sad news that one of my musical heroes, the mighty vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson had passed away.

I have been a jazz fan my entire life, but there was a period in the late 80s and early 90s, in the years right after I stopped playing in bands and decided to spend my time intently listening, that I bought, studied and listened to almost nothing but jazz.

Though I was digging everything from Bix Beiderbecke to Archie Shepp, the broadest area of my focus was applied to the post-bop/modal/out years from the late 50s to the early 70s, and in large part to the sounds of the Blue Note label.

At the time, Blue Note was engaged in an aggressive CD reissue campaign, part of which was the Connoisseur Series, in which they pressed up some of the more obscure, challenging and interesting titles from their back catalog in limited quantities. I picked up the discs in that series religiously, as well as anything else I could find that I dug, sometimes to the tune of three or four albums a week.

It was during that time that I discovered and fell in love with the music of Bobby Hutcherson.

If you come here on the reg, or dig the podcast, you know that I am a certified vibes nut, and Hutcherson was a master of the instrument (as well as the xylophone and marimba) who played in a wide variety of settings as a leader and a sideman, and in styles ranging from bebop, to modal, to inside/outside to free jazz with just about every great musician associated with Blue Note.

Head on over to Discogs and take a look as his own catalog, as well as his work as a sideman.

I was lucky enough to see him play (and meet him briefly) back in the 90s when he played in New York City.

The tracks I bring you today are from the funkiest date he did, 1971’s ‘San Francisco’, recorded with the giant of the tenor saxophone, Harold Land.

Land, who had been working steadily since the late 40s, and had been a crucial member of the Clifford Brown/Max Roach band, formed a partnership with Hutcherson in the late 60s, with the pair recording a number of albums (trading the leader’s position) over the next decade for a variety of labels.

‘San Francisco’ was a west coast date, featuring Joe Sample (of the Crusaders) on electric and acoustic piano (he also wrote ‘Goin’ Down South’),  Hutcherson and Land stretching out on some more groove-oriented material, and great production by Duke Pearson.

You’ve heard ‘Ummh’ and ‘Goin’ Down South’ in mixes here at Funky16Corners, but neither has been featured on the blog.

Both tunes have been sampled, ‘Goin’ Down South’ by Us3 and ‘Ummh’ by Ice Cube.

I’m also re-posting below, an all-vibes mix I put together in 2010 called ‘Positive Vibrations’, which features Hutcherson, as well as a number of his contemporaries from the 60s and 70s laying down funky and soulful vibes.

Funky16Corners Radio v.79 – Positive Vibrations!

Playlist

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 14, 2016 9:15 am

Listen/Download – The Mystic Moods – Cosmic Sea MP3

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today has been a huge fave since I first heard it pumping from the speakers of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions, courtesy of my man DJ Prime Mundo.

‘Cosmic Sea’ by the Mystic Moods (Orchestra) is one of those records that simply has to be heard on a big sound system, or at least on some high quality headphones.

It is a breakbeat classic ans sought after by funk 45 heads, but it has a really unusual history.

The Mystic Moods Orchestra was founded in the mid-60s by Brad Miller, one of the founders of the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (which record collector types will recognize as the source of the sought after MFSL/Original Master records), who got his start recording and releasing audiophile sound effects records (like stereo recordings of trains, etc). The “group” released over 20 albums between 1966 and 1990 (mostly for Philips and Warner Brothers), composed of a mixture of symphonic mood music, pop and easy listening, meant for the high end HI-FI sets in the bachelor pad listening rooms of the world. Over the course of more than two decades Miller, assisted by a group of arrangers and studio musicians, created a successful series of ‘musical environments’ meant to be used as the soundtrack of a variety of relaxing pastimes, up to and including lovemaking.

Their albums are not terribly hard to find, and for the most part, not anything that most Funky16Corners fans would be interested in.

However, a couple of times in the 70s, Miller and Co decided to get funky, and the finest of their efforts in that direction was ‘Cosmic Sea’.

‘Cosmic Sea’ was included on the 1973 LP by the Mystic Moods (they dropped the Orchestra the previous year), and was also released as a 45 (see above).

The record is – as you would expect from a dedicated audiophile – great sounding, with lots of phasing, and panning of synthesizers and drums for full use of stereo (especially on headphones). It is also quite funky, with some hard-hitting drums, clavinet solos, and just enough sweeping strings to capture the Barry White/boudoir market.

‘Cosmic Sea’ seems to have gotten some airplay on Pop stations (mostly on the west coast) and it’s presence on a major label has guaranteed that despite demand, it still isn’t terribly expensive.

It is a very groovy disc, indeed, and I hope you dig it.

See you all on Wednesday.

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, July 31, 2016 11:55 am

Chuck Edwards

Listen/Download – Chuck Edwards – Bullfight MP3

Greetings all.

Today we return to the catalog of one of my favorite soul artists, one who was covered at length back in the webzine days, the mighty Chuck Edwards.

Edwards, who was a Pittsburgh, PA institution until he relocated his family and his career to California, is best known for the incredible ‘Downtown Soulville’, one of the truly great records of the classic era.

Edwards had a long discography stretching back into the 1950s on labels like Apollo, Duke, Rene (his own imprint), Roulette, Punch and Kapp.

Though he never had any significant R&B or Pop chart success, today’s selection was an important regional hit in and around Pittsburgh.

‘Bullfight’, released in 1966, first on Rene, and the picked up for national distribution by Roulette made it into the Top 20 on local radio.

It’s important to take a minute to talk about the unique local music scene in Pittsburgh in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Spearheaded by local DJs like Mad Mike and Porky Chedwick, tons of otherwise obscure R&B, soul, garage or rock records became regional classics in Western PA while making almost no noise anywhere else. These have been collected over the years on a number of locally released compilations, and had an influence on local bands, who ended up covering some of these songs (as in Pittsburgh’s Swamp Rats covering tunes by Seattle’s Sonics).

Some of these compilations have been in print on and off for almost 50 years, and still change hands today.

‘Bullfight’, which features Edwards guitar prominently (as well as the repeated cry of ‘Hey Dino!’ which also appears in the 1969 sequel ‘Bullfight #2’) and chugs along at a brisk pace, yet only clocks in at an extremely brief 1:49!

Even at this late date, Edwards classic recordings have yet to be compiled, and his remains fairly obscure outside of collector circles (and Pittsburgh…).

Hopefully someone will get on the ball, because there’s a lot of very cool stuff in his catalog.

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

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, July 26, 2016 11:23 am

Jimmy Smith: The Master Wrestling With the Monster

Listen/Download – Jimmy Smith – Chain of Fools Pt1 MP3

Greetings all.

I was wandering through the hallways of the windmills of the caverns of my iPod and it occurred to me that we could all stand a dose of some midweek Hammond.

Who better to whup a little B3 on us all that the elevated past master of the organ, the mighty Jimmy Smith.

Smith is an interesting character in the annals of the Hammond – at least as far as organ 45 nuts like me go – because while he is the best known of the instruments proponents from the classic era, and recorded both as a straight ahead jazzer and a soul jazz/funk guy, he hasn’t ever really been my go-to guy for heavy, really greasy organ sides.

This has a lot to do with the fact that while a master musician, Smith was also probably the most mainstream organist of his time, with long associations with both Blue Note and Verve records. He was prolific, and fairly good-selling, so his records pop up a lot more commonly than most of his contemporaries.

He was also consistently an LP artist – thanks to his major label gigs – so he wasn’t dependent on, or laying his best stuff down for, the 45RPM format (as opposed to a guy like Hank Marr who did some of his best stuff on the smaller discs).

That said, he was no slouch, and when he wanted to he could dish out the grits and gravy with the best of them.

One of my fave Smith 45s is his version of the Don Covay (and Aretha Franklin, naturally) classic ‘Chain of Fools’ from his 1968 LP ‘Stay Loose’, on the cover of which he is inexplicably dressed in skydiving gear, and jumping up and down (though his previous album ‘Respect’ had him doing karate poses in a gi, so maybe it was in his contract).

Featuring snappy, in the pocket drums by Grady Tate and some very tasty guitar from a moonlighting Phil Upchurch (the LP was recorded in NYC), as well as a female backing chorus, Smith wails on the tune, managing to (in this first of two-parts) really do the track justice.

As Hammond 45s go, ‘Chain of Fools’ is pretty hot, and I’m sure it got more than a few feet moving when their owners dropped a nickel in the jukebox.

It would also seem that ‘Chain of Fools’ had some success (it charted locally in New York) since it was repressed a bunch of times and even got a European release.

So, if by some strange coincidence this is the first time you’ve heard Smith’s stuff (which I doubt, but bear with me) head out to your nearest used record store, garage sale or flea market and add some more Jimmy Smith to your crates, though a truckload of his Blue Note and Verve titles are available digitally, as well.

So dig it, and I’ll see you all 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, June 14, 2016 11:54 am

Chris Lujan / Dirty Dirty Podcast: Adrian Younge (the instrumentals)
K-NOW Intro
Life Of A Hustler
Una Chiamata Inattesa
King Of New York
Sittin’ By The Radio
1969 Organ
Sirens
Sandrine
Black Dynamite Theme
Hear My Love
Ghetto Superhero
Gloria (Zodiac Lovers)
Return Of The Savage
Rafelli Chase
Sangue Sull’Acciottolato
K-NOW Interlude
First Step On The Moon
Blackout
All You Got Is Your Word
Anna May
L’Aumento Dell’Abito Nero
Panic Struck
Shot Me In The Heart
K-NOW Outro

All tracks from vinyl.

Listen/Download – Chris Lujan/Dirty Dirty Podcast – Adrian Younge (the Instrumentals) 86MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all 

Welcome back to the Funky16Corners 2016, Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

Today I have the great pleasure of bringing you a very special mix from Chris Lujan, of the mighty M-Tet and the Dirty Dirty Podcast.

Chris has put together a very cool mix of Adrian Younge instrumentals.

A word from Chris:

“It is of my opinion that Adrian Younge will go down as one of the great American composers. Here we have my Dirty Dirty Podcast’s take on Adrian Younge (the instrumentals) for Larry Grogan’s Funky16Corners. Heavy on the deep soul/Italian horror/Ennio Morricone influence. 

Don’t forget to click the Paypal button and donate, and we’ll be back tomorrow with a brand new mix from Tarik Thornton!

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Your donations help to keep Funky16Corners up and running, with the blog, Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast and hundreds of hours of archived mixes.

Everyone that donates will get the new 2016 Funky16Corners badge and bumpersticker, with which you can adorn the garment and flat surface of your choosing.

Also, everyone that donates will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of the new 45 by the M-Tet!

So pull down the ones and zeros, dig deep and Keep the Faith!

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Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.