Comments (5)

By Larry, February 3, 2015 11:29 am

Don Covay

Greetings all.

It was this past weekend that word started to trickle out that the mighty Don Covay had passed away at the age of 76.

Covay was one of those giants of the soul world who was probably better known to collectors and hardcore soulies than he was to the public in general.

Though he had a handful of R&B hits under his own name between 1964 and 1980, he made his biggest (and earliest) mark as a songwriter.

His earliest successes came writing for other performers, like Chubby Checker, Tommy Tucker, Solomon Burke and Gladys Knight.

He first hit the R&B Top 40 in 1964 with ‘Mercy Mercy’, a song (featuring guitar by none other than Jimi Hendrix) which was covered the following year by the Rolling Stones.

His next hit was the song that led me to Covay (albeit in a roundabout way), via the cover by the Small Faces.

As has been recounted here before, I found my way to a lot of soul music via the beat/mod sounds of the British Invasion.

Though I knew other Don Covay songs first (especially the Steppenwolf cover of ‘Sookie Sookie’, or Aretha’s version of ‘Chain of Fools’) I had no idea they were his.

The Small Faces version of ‘Take This Hurt Off Me’ sent me out in search of the original 45, and from there it was off to the races.

A few years later, I finally put my hands on Covay’s 1966 recording of ‘Sookie Sookie’, and things were forever changed.

‘Sookie Sookie’ is one of those 45s that taps into something elemental, stirring the listener, transforming him/her into a dancer.

I first wrote about the record ten years ago:

“Opening with unadorned tambourine slaps, the starkness is soon washed away by a blaring horn section, funky guitar, organ and a set of drums with a bass kick heavier than Solomon Burke and Billy Stewart teaming up in a chicken-fight.

Don falls by, asking his peeps to “Let it hang out baby!” then dropping a succession of suggested dance steps for the crowd. When they get to the ‘Sookie Sookie’s’ in the chorus, it’s like someone dropping a sledge hammer, with one of the Goodtimer’s leaning over Don’s shoulder and screaming “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!!”.

Second verse, close to the first, drums mighty hard, horns on point and then the screamer returns with something that sounds like either “ROCK ME!” or “DROP ME!”, but it doesn’t really matter since the screams are there for punctuation, like ending a sentence with a punch in the nose.

After that the fumes in the studio apparently got stronger because Don starts rapping about banana peels and turpentine, and you can almost see the band in their sequined matador jackets, conked hair and pointy boots, rocking back and forth, jammed too close together on a tight little stage dripping their sweat on the audience and making the ice cubes in everyone’s drinks spill on the floor.

I can just see some poor slob, on his way home from the late shift stopping in for a rock and rye, pulling open the barroom door and getting his wig blown off by the mixture of heat, soul and cigarette smoke. It’s that heavy.”

Having had the privilege of spinning the 45 (and several other versions of the song*) through several loud PA systems over the years, and recalling the shock up and down my spine every time I did, I stand by every hyperbolic word of that description.

Recorded in Memphis (and co-written with Steve Cropper), ‘Sookie Sookie’ packs a double-heavy drum sound (just listen to those rolls!), greasy guitar, organ and some of the most judiciously applied horn fanfares ever laid down on McLemore Avenue.

‘Sookie Sookie’ (and you have to get the OG 1966 version) is a 45 that every soul DJ should pack in their box. You can dig up all the rarities you want, tossing them out to the trainspotters in the crowd, but if you want the dance floor to shake and the ceiling to sweat, it is your sworn duty to slip this 45 under the needle.

Covay wrote and recorded a grip of amazing records, and I’ll be back later in the week with some of them (and I promise that I’ll be putting together a full tribute for the Funky16Corners Radio Show).

Until then, let it hang out baby, and raise a glass to the memory of Don Covay.

Keep the faith

Larry

 *Tina Britt, Roy Thompson, Grant Green, Steppenwolf

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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 (5)

By Larry, October 8, 2014 12:22 pm

Richard Evans

Listen/Download Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations

Greetings all

I come to you today with a heavy heart, and the news that the mighty Richard Evans has passed away.

He had been living in Massachusetts, where he’d taught at Berklee College of Music for more than two decades.

If you’ve spent any time here at Funky16Corners, either in the early days at the web zine, or over the last decade here at the blog, you know that there are few musicians I respect as much as Richard Evans.

Evans was a composer, producer, arranger and bassist who, alongside (sometimes in collaboration with) Charles Stepney created the Cadet Records sound in the 1960s.

Born in Alabama, but raised in Chicago, Evans started working as a sideman (including a stint with Sun Ra and the Arkestra), eventually making his mark at the Chess subsidiary Cadet Records.

His work as producer/arranger/composer appeared on a grip of records through the 60s by artists like Ramsey Lewis, Dorothy Ashby, Odell Brown and the Organizers, Terry Callier, Marlena Shaw, but most importantly with his pet project the Soulful Strings.

Beginning in 1966, Evans put the full weight of his talents behind the group that would create some of the most sublimely grooving music of the late 60s.

The role of arranger has generally been a behind the scenes one, with many of its most important/trailblazing figures – Fletcher Henderson, Gil Evans, Tadd Dameron etc – working in the jazz world.

The ability to ‘paint’ musically with the various voices of an ensemble to create something greater than the sum of its parts is – when done well – a truly remarkable thing.

Richard Evans was such a gifted ‘painter’.

Never losing sight of his jazz roots, Evans moved on to a more explicitly soulful platform, employing electric instruments, unusual percussive elements, and most importantly strings, to make some of the best albums that many people have never heard.

The Soulful Strings only had a single Top 40 R&B hit, 1968’s ‘Burning Spear’, yet the group proved to be very influential.

They released seven LPs between 1966 and 1971 that consistently subverted the established idea of instrumental pop, taking the music in new and often surprising directions.

Evans was also working with other artists in the Cadet stable, as well as the occasional outside project (Victor Johnson, Nolan Chance, Young Holt Unlimited), but the Soulful Strings form the core of his legacy.

The sad thing is, that outside of people who dug them the first time around, and crate diggers and soul heads, the Soulful Strings are largely unknown, their records having been out of print (and never reissued domestically as far as I can tell) since the 1970s.

Some of their 45s are easy to come by, but the LPs can prove elusive. More than once I’ve had people who  loved the group tell me that they had no idea they had released seven albums.

I made reference above to arrangers being ‘painters’ of sound, and Evans was a virtuouso.

It helped that Evans had at his disposal some of the finest musicians working at the time,folks like Phil Upchurch, Donny Hathaway, Morris Jenning Jr, Cleveland Eaton, Bobby Christian and Billy Wooten among others.

Great painters will use pigments and brush strokes to recreate light and texture in ways that are interesting and pleasing to the eye. A great arranger – like Richard Evans – does much the same thing, using aural textures and dynamics to please the ear (and the mind).

Evans’ arranging ‘signature’ can be heard in string voicings and the appearance of unusual instrumentation like kalimba, or theremin, in such a way that after digesting enough of his work, a listener begins to recognize these trademarks.

Yesterday, after news of Evans death began to appear on social media, a friend posted a track that I’d never heard before, Ahmad Jamal’s 1973 cover of Foster Sylvers’ hit ‘Misdemeanor’. As soon as I played the clip, I could hear Richard Evans hand in the ‘canvas’, crisp, but grooving rhythm section, and then the strings.

The track I feature today, in memory of Richard Evans is one that I was shocked that I’d never posted here (outside of mixes) at Funky16Corners.

Dorothy Ashby, the jazz harpist who made some of the most interesting LPs in the Cadet catalog (and appeared on Soulful Strings sessions as well), recorded ‘Soul Vibrations’ in 1968.

The song, composed, arranged and produced by Richard Evans, is in many ways the finest thing he ever put his stamp on outside of the Soulful Strings.

‘Soul Vibrations’ is simultaneously head-noddingly funky, and positively avant garde.

Propelled by a throbbing acoustic bass, drums and percussion, and a jarring theremin, the palette is balanced by Ashby’s beautifully played harp, and, of course, those strings.

There are times where it sounds like a transmission from some funky corner of outer space. When I was putting together the tracks for the Mothership Mix, it was the first thing I thought to include.

I’m also reposting the Soulful Strings mix I put together back in 2007 (see below) , and you should check out the ‘All Strung Out’ mix from 2012, which features all manner of soul and funk featuring strings, including many tracks directly influenced by Evans’ work with the Soulful Strings.

As I said before, outside of the occasional comp appearance (some of them very strange, search Soulful Strings in iTunes…) these amazing records are long out of print, a problem that who ever is owns the Cadet catalog should take care of as soon as possible.

I hope you dig it all, and if the music is new to you, give it all a nice, deep listen (headphones, people!) and appreciate the genius of Richard Evans.

See you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________

Originally posted in 2007

Funky16Corners Radio v.33- Soul Message – the Soulful Strings

Playlist

Burning Spear (B) (Evans)
The Stepper (C) (Evans)
Soul Message (C) (Evans)
Listen Here (E) (Eddie Harris)
I Wish It Would Rain (E) (Whitfield/Strong/Penzabene)
There Was a Time (E) (James Brown)
You’re All I Need (E) (Ashford/Simpson)
Zambezi (F) (Evans/Hathaway)
Chocolate Candy (F) (Upchurch)
Valdez In the Country (F) (Hathaway)
1974 Blues (F) (Eddie Harris)
Hey Western Union Man (G) (Gamble/Huff)
I’ve Got the Groove (G) (Gamble/Huff)
I Can’t Stop Dancing (G) (Gamble/Huff)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Radio v.33 – Soul Message

Greetings all.

Today’s edition of Funky16Corners Radio is a project that I’ve been promising to do (after several requests) for a long time. I finally got my shit together this weekend, and so here you have Funky16Corners Radio v.33 – Soul Message, the sound of the Soulful Strings.

I’ve only ever done one other single-artist edition of Funky16Corners radio (Lee Dorsey), and after much delay decided to devote a mix to the Soulful Strings as they are not only one of my all-time favorite groups, but also because they are woefully underrepresented in reissue. As far as I’ve been able to tell none of their albums have ever been reissued domestically, and aside from a track here are there on comps, you’d pretty much have to dig up the original vinyl (which took me quite some time) to get the whole picture.

Though their 45s aren’t too hard to come by, the albums (most of them anyway) are another story entirely. They don’t command too high a price, but they can be very hard to track down.

If you’ve hung around here (or the webzine) for a while you already know that I am a huge fan of the legendary Richard Evans.

Evans, along with Charles Stepney – was the major creative force behind Chicago’s Cadet Records in the 60’s and 70’s. Originally a jazz bassist, Evans went to write, arrange and produce some of the finest records to come out of the Cadet catalog.

Despite what appears to have been a very busy schedule, in 1966 Evans began work on his own project, the Soulful Strings.

While Evans had always been an innovative arranger/producer, it was with the Soulful Strings that he began to experiment with the innovative instrumentation that he would go on to use to great effect with Dorothy Ashby, Marlena Shaw and Terry Callier among others.

Though at first glance the Soulful Strings appear to have been another easy listening/kitsch project engineered to cash in on an audience unable to stomach harder edged soul music (and the Chess brothers may very well have had that in mind) Evans was too much of a visionary to sit back and crank out dross. On the seven Soulful Strings LPs recorded between 1966 and 1971, Evans created some of the most interesting, vital sounds of his career.

It’s important to look past the name of the group and listen closely to the music on the records. When you do so the impression you get is not of a Montovani-esque vibe, but rather an energetic soul/funk/jazz rhythm section augmented (not overpowered) by strings.

This has everything to do with Evans’ vision of a truly soulful sound with a baroque twist (kind of a flipside of Stepney’s psychedelic soul experiments with Rotary Connection), but also with the players he worked with to build the sound.

Though only one Soulful Strings LP (Groovin’) sports a full personnel listing – the rest list only featured soloists – the core of the group was formed from the cream of Cadet sessioners like Stepney, Lennie Druss, Phil Upchurch, Donny Hathaway, Cleveland Eaton, Morris Jennings Jr. and Cash McCall, and vibraphonists Bobby Christian and Billy Wooten. The only strings players that are listed on multiple albums were violinist Sol Bobrov, and viola player Bruce Hayden, with bassist Eaton occasionally doubling on cello.

The debut LP, 1966’s ‘Paint It Black’ was composed entirely of covers. It wasn’t until 1967 and ‘Groovin’ with the Soulful Strings’ that Evans would include an original composition, and with ‘Burning Spear’ the group would have their biggest hit. The tune would go on to be covered by Kenny Burrell, S.O.U.L, Jimmy Smith, Joe Pass and the Salsoul Orchestra. There would be three Evans originals on ‘Another Exposure’, and none at all on ‘In Concert’.

It wasn’t until 1969 and ‘String Fever that an album would be dominated by original compositions, with tunes (and collaborations) by Evans, Phil Upchurch and Donny Hathaway beside two Eddie Harris tunes (1974 Blues and Cold Duck Time).

The final Soulful Strings LP, ‘Play Gamble-Huff’ was – as the title suggests – composed entirely of tunes written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

The tunes in this mix are not presented in chronological order, nor are all of the Soulful Strings albums represented. You can hear the title cut from ‘Paint It Black’ in Funky16Corners Radio v.31 – Soul Satisfaction*, and I’m holding off on tracks from the ‘Magic of Christmas’ LP until (wait for it…here it comes..) Christmas.

The mix opens with the Soulful Strings best known song, ‘Burning Spear’. Opening with kalimba (an instrument Evans would use frequently), the drums come in quickly until the flute takes the lead. It’s interesting that in a group where the Strings get top billing, the flute (mainly Lennie Druss, later Richie Fudali) is given an especially prominent role.

The next cut ‘The Stepper’ is a groovy swinger with some nice organ and a great guitar solo by Upchurch.

‘Soul Message’, another showcase for Lennie Druss has a propulsive beat and a seriously Eastern vibe.

Evans would dip into the Eddie Harris catalog several times, including a very nice version of the oft covered soul jazz standard ‘Listen Here’. It is one of the tracks from the ‘In Concert’ LP that sound (not surprisingly) ‘In studio’, or at least heavily overdubbed. Of the other ‘In Concert’ tracks included here, ‘I Wish It Would Rain’ is positively sublime, and one of my fave Soulful Strings cuts. ‘There Was a Time’, the group’s sole selection from the James Brown catalog actually manages to preserve some of the urgency of the original while recasting it in their own image. It also sounds as if it were actually recorded live. The final track included here from ‘In Concert’, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s ‘You’re All I Need (To Get By), is another great fit of material to setting.

The next four cuts all come from what I consider to be the Soulful Strings finest moment, the 1969 LP ‘String Fever’. As I said earlier, ‘String Fever’ was composed almost entirely of group originals, which are all excellent. As a result, this is their funkiest album, with some of the tracks tapping into a slick, urban vibe that anticipates a lot of early 70’s soul.

‘Zambezi’ and ‘Chocolate Candy’ – both of which I’ve spun at DJ nights to positive response – are both incredibly cool. ‘Zambezi’ features some very groovy scatting (by Upchurch, I think) and ‘Chocolate Candy’, written by Phil Upchurch is a lost classic.

‘Valdez in the Country’ – which also features the guitar/scat combo) was one of the first Donny Hathaway tunes to be recorded, and went on to be covered several times by the likes of George Benson, Cold Blood, Gerald Veasely and Ernie Watts among others. Hathaway wouldn’t record it himself until 1973’s ‘Extensions of a Man’.

‘1974 Blues’, which originally appeared on Eddie Harris classic ‘Silver Cycles’ LP the year before takes a lighter approach than the original, with some great vibes (uncredited).

The final Soulful Strings LP ‘Play Gamble-Huff’ wouldn’t hit the racks until 1971. It features Strings-ized versions of several big hits, including Jerry Butler’s ‘Hey Western Union Man’ (also covered by Clarence Wheeler & the Enforcers), the O’Jay’s ‘I’ve Got the Groove’ and Archie Bell & the Drells’ ‘I Can’t Stop Dancing’.

Though I can’t say why that was the end of the Soulful Strings, it wasn’t long before Evans was releasing solo albums, as well as working as a bassist and arranger for Natalie Cole, Peabo Bryson and Ahmad Jahmal among others.

He eventually took a long-term position as a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

That all said, I hope you dig the Soulful Strings.
________________________________

Principal players
Richard Evans – Arranger/Producer/bass
Lennie Druss – Flute
Charles Stepney – organ, vibes
Phil Upchurch – Guitar
Cleveland Eaton – bass, cello
Morris Jennings Jr. – drums
Bobby Christian – vibes
Billy Wooten – vibes
Cash McCall – guitar
Richie Fudali – flute
Sol Bobrov – violin
Bruce Hayden – viola

LP Discography
A. Paint It Black 1966
B. Groovin’ With the Soulful Strings 1967
C. Another Exposure 1968
D. Magic of Christmas 1968
E. In Concert 1969
F. String Fever 1969
G. Play Gamble-Huff 1971

45 Discography
The Sidewinder / Message To Michael – 1966
Paint It Black / Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing– 1967
Burning Spear / Within You Without You – 1967
The Stepper / The Dock Of The Bay – 1968
Jericho / The Who Who Song – 1968
I Wish It Would Rain / Listen Here – 1969
Zambezi / A Love Song – 1969

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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, September 14, 2014 12:47 pm

Cosimo Matassa 1926-2014

Willie Harper – But I Couldn’t (ALON)
Willie West – Hello Mama (Deesu)
Tim Whitsett and the Imperials – Monkey Man (Ace)
The Stokes – Young Man Old Man (ALON)
The Stokes – Whipped Cream (ALON)
Warren Lee – Star Revue (Deesu)
Eddie Lang – Something Withing Me (Seven B)
Oliver Morgan – Roll Call (Seven B)
G. Davis & R. Tyler – Hold On Help Is On the Way (Par-Lo)
Eddie Bo – Fence of Love (Seven B)
Guitar Ray – Patty Cake Shake (Hot Line)
James Rivers – Tighten Up (Eight Ball)
Lee Circle – Other Delights (ALON)
Robert Parker – In the Midnight Hour (NOLA)
Roger and the Gypsies – Pass the Hatchet Pts1&2 (Seven B)
Bobby Powell – Why Am I Treated So Bad (Whit)
Art Neville – Hook, Line and Sinker (Instant)
Chris Kenner – Fumigate Funky Broadway (Instant)
Skip Easterling – Keep the Fire Burning (ALON)
Willie West – Did You Have Fun (Deesu)
Eddie Bo – Skate It Out (Seven B)
Curley Moore – Soul Train (Hot Line)

Listen/Download The Master: A Cosimo Matassa Sampler

Greetings all

I hope the new week finds you well.

It was at the end of last week that news came down that the legendary Cosimo Matassa had slipped the surly bonds of earth at the age of 88.

If you are not familiar with the name, if you are a regular here at the Corners, you are most certainly hip to the sounds that he helped bring into the world.

Matassa was, from the early 1950s, the recording/mastering engineer of record for most (not much, MOST) of the music – rock’n’roll, R&B, soul and funk – laid down in the Crescent City, as well as  a label owner and record distributor.

I won’t go into much detail here, because the extremely long and complicated story has already been told (and is still being added to) at the mighty Cosimo Code website by cats like Davie Gordon, Red Kelly, John Broven, John ‘Sir Shambling’ Ridley and Peter Gibbon.

There, they have endeavored to compile a list of recordings recorded, or mastered by Matassa, using his unique coding system.

Your next stop should be the Cosimo Code site, where anyone with even a passing interest in New Orleans music could get lost for hours.

When I heard that Cosimo had passed, I went back through the chronological lists at Cosimo Code and started pulling recordings out of my own archive as I saw them on the list, so that I could put together a representative (though hardly comprehensive) sampling of the records he helped birth.

These are exclusively 1960s recordings (mostly 1965-1967) with a couple of surprises (as in, I was surprised to see them on the list) and a few unusual things you might not normally find here at Funky16Corners. There’s a just a touch over an hour of solid 45s (and one LP track).

So, click on the link, give the old ones and zeros a spin, and head on over to the Cosimo Code and try to digest the mind-boggling breadth of Mr Matassa’s portfolio.

Condolences to those that knew him, and props to the CC crew for their amazing work.

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, July 31, 2014 11:58 am

Idris lays into the traps…

Listen/Download Idris Muhammad – Express Yourself

Listen/Download Idris Muhammad – Super Bad

Listen/Download Leon Spencer – Message From the Meters

Listen/Download Lou Donaldson – Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky From Now On

Listen/Download Lonnie Smith – See Saw

Listen/Download Melvin Sparks – Thank You Pt1

Listen/Download Melvin Sparks – Thank You Pt2

Listen/Download Bob James – Nautilus

Greetings all

I logged on to the interwebs last night only to be greeted by rumors of the passing of the mighty Idris Muhammad.

It wasn’t long before the rumors were confirmed by this obituary out of his home port of New Orleans.

Idris Muhammad was born Leo Morris in New Orleans in 1939.

He was childhood friends with the Neville brothers, and one of his first gigs was playing on Fats Domino’s 1956 smash ‘Blueberry Hill’ (he also played on the seminal Crescent City track, the Hawketts ‘Mardi Gras Mambo’).

Muhammad left New Orleans in the mid-60s and headed north to make his bones as a jazz drummer.

He soon became a fixture on a seemingly endless succession of heavy New York soul jazz dates, playing alongside a wide variety of organists, guitarists and others (dig the discography in his Wikipedia entry), eventually leading his own dates for Prestige starting in 1970.

Idris has appeared here at Funky16Corners many times over the years, both as leader and sideman.

His drumming style was steeped in the New Orleans second line, and was deeply funky, both in the wayback Ninth Ward way and also in the post-James Brown get down.

I’m posting a wide variety of tracks blessed with his beats, but that mixture of Big Easy and Good Foot was never more obvious than  in  the solo in his cover of Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band’s ‘Express Yourself, the opening track’ from his 1970 debut as a leader ‘Black Rhythm Revolution’. Listening to it is hearing a very groovy bunch of uptown jazzers suddenly morphing into a high-stepping, umbrella-waving parade.

It is bad-ass.

I’m including the flipside of that 45, his cover of JB’s ‘Super Bad’ (bringing it all back around, as it were) as well as a grip of sessions from the late 60s/early 70s that feature Muhammad. It’s worth noting that two of the best tracks hail from NOLA, Lou Donaldson covering Lee Dorsey and Leon Spencer, the Meters.

The last track, Bob James’ epic – heavily sampled, see below* –  1974 track ‘Nautilus’, in which Muhammad lays out one of the smoothest/tastiest breaks ever.

Idris Muhammad went on to play with a host of jazz greats, spending may years working with Ahmad Jamal, before retiring to his home town in 2011.

He was a master of the skins, who carried the beat in his heart and soul.

He will be missed.

See you on Monday

Keep the faith

Larry

     *Songs that sample ‘Nautilus’ (from the-breaks.com)

     A Tribe Called Quest’s “Clap Your Hands”
     Alkaholiks’s “Daaam!”
     All Natural’s “Think Again”
     Basement Khemist’s “Correct Technique”
     Camp Lo’s “Black Nostaljack”
     Chubb Rock’s “Keep it Street”
     DJ Food’s “Spiral Dub”
     DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s “Jazzy’s Groove”
     Dream Warriors’s “Voyage Through the Multiverse”
     EPMD’s “Brothers on My Jock”
     Eric B and Rakim’s “Follow the Leader”
     Eric B and Rakim’s “Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em”
     Freestylers’s “Warning”
     Geto Boys’s “Snitches”
     Ghostface Killah’s “Daytona 500”
     Group Home’s “Inna Citi Life”
     Ice T’s “?”
     JCD and the Dawg lb’s “Over Pussy”
     Jeru’s “My Mind Spray”
     Joe Budden’s “Yo, Yo, Yo”
     Jungle Brothers’s “Book of Rhyme Pages”
     K-Solo’s “Everybody Knows Me”
     Keith Murray’s “The Rhyme”
     King Sun’s “Big Shots”
     Kruder & Dorfmeister’s “Original Bedroom Rockers”
     Large Professor ft Pete Rock’s “The Rap World”
     Leaders of the New School’s “Show Me a Hero”
     Lord Shafiyq’s “My Mic is on Fire”
     Lyrical Prophecy’s “You Can’t Swing This”
     Main Source’s “Live at the Barbecue”
     Mary J. Blige’s “Just Mary”
     Mary J. Blige ft Nas & DMX’s “Sincerity”
     Mekon’s “Phatty’s Lunch Box”
     Mike Zoot’s “Scene”
     Naughty by Nature’s “Cruddy Clique”
     Nice & Smooth’s “No Delayin’”
     Onyx’s “Black Vagina Finda”
     Onyx’s “Throw Ya Gunz”
     Organized Konfusion’s “Stray Bullet”
     Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “Take You There”
     Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “The Sun Won’t Come Out”
     Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “What’s Next on the Menu?”
     Poison Clan’s “Paper Chase”
     Poor Righteous Teachers’s “Word is Bond”
     Project M’s “The Place to Be”
     Public Enemy’s “Anti-N*gger Machine”
     Puff Daddy ft Busta Rhymes and Notorious BIG’s “Victory”
     Queen Mother Rage’s “Slippin’ into Darkness”
     Red Myers’s “Shoplifter”
     Run-DMC’s “Beats to the Rhyme”
     Run-DMC’s “Groove to the Sound”
     Salt-N-Pepa’s “Doper than Dope”
     Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”
     Soul II Soul’s “Jazzie’s Groove”
     Tame One’s “Torture Chamber”
     The Roots ft Mos Def’s “Double Trouble”
     Threat’s “Bust One Fa Me”
     Tim Dog’s “Bronx Nigga”
     Tim Dog’s “I’ll Wax Anybody”
     Tim Dog’s “Low Down Nigg*”
     Ultramagnetic MCs’s “Ced Gee (Delta Force One)”
     Ultramagnetic MCs’s “Moe Love on the One & Two”
     Ultramagnetic MCs’s “Raise it Up”

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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, June 29, 2014 11:56 am

Bobby Womack

Listen/Download The Valentinos – It’s All Over Now

Listen/Download Percy Sledge – Baby Help Me

Listen/Download Bobby Womack – Take Me

Listen/Download Bobby Womack – A Simple Man

Listen/Download Sammy Gordon and the Hip Huggers – Breezin’

Listen/Download Bobby Womack and Peace – Across 110th Street

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Greetings all

Last week ended on a down note, with news of the passing of the mighty Bobby Womack.

Womack, who was 70, had fought multiple health-related battles over the past few years.

As has been stated in this space a few times in the past, I came to the music of Bobby Womack fairly late in the game.

Womack’s was one of those names that I ‘knew’ (that much was unavoidable) but his music was always just outside of my view.

Typical of my musical wandering, it was via his singing with his brothers in the Valentinos that I first heard his voice.

As an inveterate seeker of all things ‘original’, it was the Valentinos’ ‘It’s All Over Now’, covered by the Rolling Stones, that I had to put my hands on, and I was very happy to do so.

Over the years, thanks to reading about his exploits in a number of books, I became better acquainted with his life, and by picking up his records when I could, his music.

Discussing his passing with a friend on Facebook, I described Bobby Womack as a kind of ‘Zelig’ of soul (referencing the omnipresent Woody Allen character), popping up all over the musical landscape, working with artists like Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin over the years.

He got his start singing gospel with The Womack Brothers, that group evolving (much to their father’s consternation) into the R&B Valentinos.

Womack worked closely with Sam Cooke, and after that giant’s untimely death, eventually married his widow, a move that was reportedly so unpopular in the music business that it all but torpedoed his career at the time.

Through the 1960s Womack worked steadily as a guitarist (for Ray Charles, among others) and songwriter, composing a number of Wilson Pickett’s big hits (‘I’m In Love’ and ‘I’m a Midnight Mover’ among others), yet didn’t make it onto the charts under his own name until 1968 and ‘What Is This’, which started long string of R&B hits that lasted all the way until 1986.

The more I listen to his music, the more I realize that Bobby Womack should have been a much, bigger star. I think, had his string of hits started a few years earlier, he would be spoken of in the same breath as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke and the like.

He was a prodigiously talented artist, as able a composer and musician as he was a singer, able to mix and match those talents as needed.

That he was already held in that high esteem by soul fans is without question. The outpouring of sadness and respect I have seen over the past few days attests to that.

I have posted a number of Bobby Womack (and related) tracks in this space over the last half-dozen years. As I was digging through the archives, I pulled a number of those out, as well as something I’d been wanting to feature for a while.

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The first track is – of course – the Valentinos ‘It’s All Over Now’. Released in 1964 on Sam Cooke’s SAR label, but soon pushed out of the spotlight by the Rolling Stones cover, ‘It’s All Over Now’ is a fantastic piece of early West Coast soul, and maybe the grooviest record ever to feature both the glockenspiel and the tuba. It wasn’t the Valentinos biggest hit – ‘Lookin’ For a Love’ made it into the R&B Top 10 in 1962 – but it is nonetheless amazing.

Percy Sledge

Next up is a track from Womack’s songwriting days, just prior to his own chart ascendancy. ‘Baby Help Me’ was a minor hit for Percy Sledge in early 1967. It is a departure for Sledge, seeing him working the uptempo, soul shouting side of the street.

‘Take Me’ from 1968, was the flipside of his Top 20 R&B hit cover of ‘Fly Me To the Moon’. I am here to tell you – though you’d be able to pick up as much listening to the song – that this is not only one of Bobby Womack’s best (though, strangely enough, composed not by him, but by Big Dee Erwin/Ervin) but one of the finest soul records laid down in the 1960s.

Recorded in Memphis with the American Studios band (of whom Womack had been a part), ‘Take Me’ (this is the 45 mix, noticeably different from, and superior to the LP track) is a mid-tempo epic, with a powerful ascending horn chart, and an epic vocal by Bobby. There are times when this record can bring me to tears, it’s so good.

1971 found Womack in the studio with another Funky16Corners favorite, Gabor Szabo on the ‘High Contrast’ LP (Womack writing four of the album’s seven tracks). He presented Szabo with a new composition entitled ‘Breezin’, and the two of them grazed the R&B Top 40 with their version of the song.

A year later, NY-based Sammy Gordon and the Hiphuggers covered ‘Breezin’ for the Archives label. Gordon, who had come to New York (as did his cousin Benny, of Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers) from the Carolinas, recorded a couple of excellent, funky 45s. Their amazing version of ‘Breezin’ went nowhere near the charts, but its loopable drum and bass opening (try to keep from nodding your head) and mellow groove is fantastic, and for me far superior to the better known, 1976 hit by George Benson.

The very funky ‘Simple Man’ (co-written with Joe Hicks) is one of my favorite tracks from Womack’s 1972 LP ‘Understanding, which also included ‘Woman’s Gotta Have It’ his first R&B #1 hit. The cut features a wild vocal by Bobby, some rolling electric piano and plenty of fuzz guitar.

I wanted to include Womack’s 1973 cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’. Recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section for the ‘Facts of Life’ album, it’s a hard rocking take on the tune, which sounds more like Neil Young than Jimi Hendrix, and is a great window into the complexity and variety of Womack’s sound.

The last track I’m posting today is Bobby Womack’s famous entry into the Blaxploitation world, 1973’s title track from the film ‘Across 100th Street’. A funky cut, with just enough strings (co-written with jazz trombonist JJ Johnson, who created much of the instrumental music on the soundtrack), it is pushed along by percussive keyboards and heavy bass. The song had a second life when Quentin Tarantino used it in his film ‘Jackie Brown’.

He continued to record through the 80s and 90s (having some of his biggest hits with the LPs ‘The Poet’ and ‘The Poet II” in 1981 and 1984 respectively), eventually guesting on the Gorillaz ‘Stylo’ in 2009 (the year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

Bobby Womack was a master.

He will be missed.

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, 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.

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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!

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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, January 31, 2014 12:10 pm

Listen/Download The Mighty Hannibal – Jerkin’ the Dog (Special Tribute)*

Greetings all

The word came down yesterday that James Shaw, better known as the Mighty Hannibal had passed away at the age of 74.

Hannibal was a master (as well as a charter member of the Turban Hall of Fame!), recording some remarkable soul and funk 45s in a career that lasted – with some detours along the way – more than 50 years.

His 1965 opus ‘Jerkin’ the Dog’ has a secure place in my Top 5 soul 45s of all time.

It is – much like Rex Garvin (eulogized in this space less than a month ago) and the Mighty Cravers ‘I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor)’ – a killer diller and a floor filler. A 45 so powerful that it held a place of honor in my play box, where it would be held in reserve for just the right moment, when it would be whipped on the crowd, taking them and leading them to the promised land.

It is far from the only incredible tune that the Mighty one laid down, but it is the one against which all others must be judged.

The record opens with his voice:

And then immediately drops into the hypnotic chank of the rhythm guitar which forces even the most stolid members of the audience to start moving, from their heads to their feet.

Then Hannibal stops things again and asks:

After which everyone in the room that knows what’s good for them (and hasn’t already collapsed) starts stomping, because when the Mighty Hannibal suggests (nay, demands) that you do something on the dance floor you put your drink down (or not) and do it.

There’s an incredible video of Hannibal performing ‘Jerkin’ the Dog’ on ‘The Beat!!!’ that has to be seen to be believed.

There stands Hannibal clad in a white silk tunic, bell bottoms, silver Beatle boots and a gold turban, with two go-go dancers behind him, surrounded by brightly colored giant plywood exclamation points, ampersands and asterisks, calling the shots, doing the jerk, walking the dog and just generally being bad-ass.

There are some crazy video artifacts out there, but this is like a transmission from another galaxy, where Hannibal is just now returning to his throne after dropping a lifetime of cool onto the earth.

The Mighty Hannibal did not have an easy life, and never really got the kind of shine that the creator of such amazing music deserved.

Fortunately, late in his life, thanks to devoted friends, fans and record hounds, he was able to return to the stage where he would bask in the adoration of the faithful once again.

He was a master.

He will be missed.

Rest in peace Mr. Shaw.

Keep the faith

Larry

* The file above includes an unexpected namecheck for the Mighty Hannibal that blew my mind the first time I heard 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.

Comments (2)

By Larry, January 5, 2014 11:14 am

Rex Garvin

Listen/Download Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers – I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor)

Greetings all

I hate to get the week started on a sad note, but hang tight and I promise that I’ll bring things around at the end.

I was chilling the other night, scrolling through Facebook when I spotted a post by my man Agent45, noting that the mighty Rex Garvin had died.

If you have been following my comings and goings (ranting and raving) here over the years you will already know that I hold the music of Rex Garvin (and his Mighty Cravers) in the highest possible esteem, especially the sounds of one very special record.

As I sit here tapping away at the keyboard in the middle of my record room I am surrounded by many thousands of records, tens of thousands of songs, and I love many of those songs deeply, but there are a select few that are genuinely important to me.

Some of these are Rosetta Stones of a sort in that they unlocked doors for me, whether in a purely sonic sense, or providing a gateway into a particular artist or style.

Others are important in that they represent that rare, perfect intersection of composition, production and above all performance.

I have posited here in the past that the best records (in any genre) contain a certain magic, and that a DJ, with the proper amount of taste and practice understands how to release that power properly, mixing the right records together in such a way as to lift the feeling in a room. You release the joy, energy and rhythmic drive in a record and if things are just right and the people are feeling it you achieve, whether for a minute, or an hour, a kind of ecstasy.

There is joy in music, amplified by movement (not just dance) that is ancient and essential and resides in the spirit of every man, woman and child and one of the great tragedies is that we do not release ourselves into that state and partake in its elevating, restorative nature often enough.

When I pack my record box for a particular night, I select things according to the proscribed style and tempo (usually varying), sometimes adding in a “wild card” or two that can be inserted into the mix should the opportunity arise.

What I also include nestled securely in the deep end of the box, usually handled with protective equipment, are the killers.

These are the records that carry in their grooves that exceptional, often explosive power on which an entire set can pivot into another dimension.

A record like this must be used sparingly and with the utmost care.

Spun in the wrong place, at the wrong time – when the audience isn’t ready – its energy can be wasted, but released properly it can do remarkable things.

‘I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor)’ by Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers is one such record.

It needs to be stated at this point that Rex and the Cravers were no one-shot wonders. Their 1960s recordings for a variety of labels (Epic, Okeh, Like, Atlantic, Tower) are packed with winners like ‘Emulsified’, ‘Sock It To Em JB’, ‘Queen of the Go Go’ and ‘Raw Funky’, but ‘I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor)’ is in a class by itself.

Released in 1967, ‘I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor)’ did not – as far as I can tell – chart anywhere, at any level, which, once you listen to the record, seems inexplicable.

Co-written by Garvin, saxophonist Clayton Dunn and drummer Pete Holman, it has an unrelenting tempo, pushed forward by the drums, bass and rhythm guitar, along with the occasional soul clapping and the wailing of a combo organ in the background.

Where the record really takes off, though, is in the vocal performance by Rex Garvin.

The influence of gospel music on soul is incalculable, but it isn’t always this obvious.

Here, Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers have taked the sound of the amen corner, packed it with TNT and sent it over a cliff.

Garvin isn’t merely singing, he’s preaching the gospel of soul, in a song that is quite literally about being carried away by the power of music.

He’s telling you that through the music he is compelled to launch himself out onto the dance floor, feeling the music in his soul, rising from his seat, clapping his hands as hard as he can. He is filled with the spirit (holy or otherwise) and he has to move.

Listen to this record and imagine everyone in choir robes, bouncing the call and response back and forth between Rex and the band.

I GOTTA GO NOW!

(GO AHEAD!)

OUT ON THE FLOOR NOW!

(GO AHEAD!)

SAID I GOTTA GO NOW!

(GO AHEAD!)

OUT ON THE FLOOR NOW!

HIT IT!

(HIT IT!)

DON’T QUIT IT!

This is the ecstatic religious experience secularized (or not, depending on what music means to you) and moved out into the club.

If this record doesn’t send shivers up and down your spine and out into your limbs I don’t know what to tell you.

This is the kind of record that soul music is all about, and the kind of record that moves me to the bottom of my soul.

It is that powerful, and in the 20 or so years since I first heard it, over countless listens has never lost an iota of its power for me.

No matter how many times I listen to it, or pull it from my box and place it on the slipmat in a club, it is always as amazing as the last.

Oddly enough, after almost 30 years, Rex Garvin put music behind him, calling it quits in 1985.

He eventually settled in Atlanta, where he passed away early in December at the age of 72.

I’ll be DJing this week, and I can assure you that I will have this record in my box, and I will spin in in the memory of the mighty Rex Garvin.

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.

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, December 10, 2013 9:58 am

Otis Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival

Listen/Download – Otis Redding – Monterey Pop Set

Set List”: Shake – Respect – I’ve Been Loving You Too Long – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – Try a Little Tenderness

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Greetings all.

This is a repost of a piece I wrote back in 2008 about the sounds that first brought me to soul music, back when I was a kid.

I putting it up again because 46 years ago today, the mighty Otis Redding (the greatest soul singer that ever was) was taken from  us in a plane crash.

He was only 26 years old and one can only imagine what he could have accomplished had he lived.

Do yourself a favor – whether you’ve heard this or not – and sit down with your headphones on, give this performance your full attention, and realized what a master he was.

A gift to us all.

Dig it, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the Faith

Larry

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Originally posted 3/27/2008

>>I hope the end of the week – as it nears – finds you well.

The “selection” I bring you today is something a little different than I ordinarily offer in this space, in that it is composed of an entire LP side, which is itself an entire live set* by one of the greatest soul artists of all time, the mighty Otis Redding.

I’ve mentioned several times in this space that my ‘Road to Damascus’ moment as a fan of soul music was the day I flipped over the Jimi Hendrix Experience ‘Live at Monterey’ LP and played the album side I have posted today.

That day – sometime around 1976 or ’77 – was a landmark in my musical growth because although I was aware of soul and funk music in as much as its existence was reflected in the playlists of Top 40 radio of the early 70s, I had never been an active consumer thereof, i.e. I let the soul come to me, but never went looking for it.

It’s likely that I wasn’t paying close attention to the album, at least not at first, as I didn’t have much of an idea who Otis Redding was, outside of ‘Dock of the Bay’. It was that day, as the sounds of one of the greatest live sets ever recorded by any artist poured from my Montgomery Ward console stereo (next to my bed, the biggest piece of furniture in my small room), that a fundamental part of how my mind processed music – in as much as it processed the effects of sound along with my heart and soul – was changed forever.

I can’t remember the first time I actually saw ‘Monterey Pop’ on TV, though it was probably either on the Late Show or on the local PBS station, but when I did it quickly became my favorite musical documentary, in large part because of the inclusion of an excerpt from this very set.

It wasn’t until last year, when my lovely wife bought me the Criterion Collection issue of ‘Monterey Pop’ – which included an entire disc of previously unissued performances, as well as the two mini-documentaries ‘Jimi Plays Monterey!’ and ‘Shake! Otis at Monterey’ that I finally saw the film of Redding’s entire set from June 17th, 1967.

It was the final set, of the second night of the Monterey Pop Festival, and as the story goes, the festival had gone past the agreed upon curfew by the time Otis reached the stage.

Backed by Booker T & the MGs (who had just played a short set of their own), as well as the Mar-Keys (actually the Memphis Horns with the addition of Floyd Newman), and following an introduction by Tommy Smothers, Otis stormed the stage and ripped into Sam Cooke’s ‘Shake’. Despite a solid, day-long line up of rock, pop and jazz acts, at that late hour the crowd could not have possibly been prepared for the power that Redding brought onto the stage.

By the time Otis finished the tune he was gasping for breath, as he introduced his own ‘Respect’ – with a bit of understatement – as ‘…a song that a girl took away from me.’ He takes the tune at a brisk pace with pounding support from the band.

As he finishes ‘Respect’ he takes a moment to rap to what he refers to as ‘The Love Crowd’, before he launches into one of the single greatest soul performances ever recorded.

Two years before Monterey, Redding and Jerry Butler sat down in a Buffalo, NY hotel room and composed what would become (later that year) one of Redding’s biggest hits, ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’. Redding’s reading of the tune is an absolute masterpiece of dynamics, building and release of tension and pure soul. It’s not hard to deduce from his demeanor that by this point in the set that Otis knew that he had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

He delivers his greatest song as a high-wire act balancing tasteful restraint with roof-raising soul pleading.

Whenever I listen to this (a performance that never fails to bring a tear to my eye) I wonder if Otis and Butler knew when they were writing this song how perfect a showstopper it would become. The verses open with those classic, slow-dance, R&B guitar triplets, moving to an explosion each time the second part of the verse begins.

There’s a version of ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’ on the ‘Otis Redding Live In Europe’ LP where, if you listen very closely, you can hear Redding – as an aside, almost completely off mike – say ‘Oh my God!’ just before he launches into the line ‘There were times… It’s almost as if he had to muster every bit of power in his voice to deliver the line, rocketing the level of emotion in the performance to a point that few performers could ever dream of approaching and the truly amazing thing is that he’s able to do it over, and over again until the final section of the song where he’s rolling out the

‘GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY’s

and the ‘I CAN’T STOP NOW’s

and ‘I’M DOWN ON MY KNEES’

and ‘I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART’

and the band is vamping under him with the horns growing in intensity, and before you know it – because you almost expect, or at least wish that he would go on all night – the song is over and the band tears into ‘Satisfaction’, and the audience, still dizzy from the previous number rides along with them until Otis takes the tempo down, and you can hear the audience clapping along, and then the band picks up speed again almost crashing at the end of the song.

It’s at this point that Otis Redding proves once and for all (as if there were any doubts left) how much of a master performer he was. Taking a song written and first performed in 1932, Redding builds ‘Try a Little Tenderness’ into a soulful tour de force. The tempo of the tune building almost imperceptibly at first, with the band laying down the sparest of backings, but before you know it the whole shebang is bearing down like a freight train and Otis is wailing about

‘GOTTA GOTTA GOTTA NOW NOW NOW TENDERNESS A LITTLE TENDERNESS YEAH YEAH TENDERNESS YOU GOTTA GOTTA TENDERNESS!!!’

and Steve Cropper is weaving in and out of the mix and you can sense Otis whipping the audience around like a sweaty handkerchief while he loses himself in the ecstasy of the performance.

This is true greatness, on a level that very, very few performers, in any kind of music were ever able to achieve, and as the few remaining documents will attest to, it was greatness that Otis Redding was able to deliver on a regular basis.

The Monterey Pop Festival was filled with monumental, career making performances, but no one, not Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, NO ONE, came within 100 miles of delivering the way Otis Redding delivered that night.

He wouldn’t have many opportunities to do it again, because a few days short of six months later, Otis Redding was dead.<<

*Believe it or not, this entire – legendary – set lasts less that 20 minutes!
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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, December 2, 2013 12:12 pm

Junior Murvin

Listen/Download – Junior Murvin – Police and Thieves

Listen/Download – Jah Lion – Soldier and Police War (dub)

NOTE: Word just came down that reggae legend Junior Murvin has passed away at the age of 64.

Murvin made some great records, but none greater than ‘Police and Thieves’, produced by the mighty Lee Scratch Perry and then covered and immortalized for a generation of punks by the Clash.

This post originally ran back in August of 2010.

I’m reposting ‘Police and Thieves’ and adding the dub from the flipside, ‘Soldier and Police War’.

I hope you dig it, and that you raise a glass in memory of Junior Murvin.

Keep the Faith

Larry

Originally posted 8/5/10

>>Greetings all.
How’s things on your end of the tin can and string device we know as the interwebs?
I’m feeling – in the words of the mighty Slim Gaillard – mellow as a cello, so I figured I’d dip into the reggae box and whip something a tasty on you.

Way back in the olden days, when things were different (and they were, I assure you) a band called the Clash appeared on the scene, and as was my style of the time, I missed the boat.

The only guys I knew in school who dug the band were a couple of prize maroons, whose previous band worship was devoted to KISS (another band I couldn’t stand when I was in high school), and since they were knee deep in their suburban misunderstanding of ‘punk’ as it was, I trusted them not a whit.

My loss…

Anyhoo, a few years later, having been hipped to heavier sounds than the power pop that I thrived on by some cats whose taste I trusted implicitly, I gave the Clash a second chance, and thanks in large part to their reggae stylings, started to dig them, especially an energetic little number called ‘Police and Thieves’.
A few more years down the pike, another, hipper friend informed me that the song I dug was in fact a cover, and the original was by a dude named Junior Murvin.

As soon as I heard the original ‘Police and Thieves’ my mind was good and truly blown.

Where the Clash sounded like a heard of goons hurtling down a rutted street in a rusty city bus, Junior Murvin, ably assisted by the mighty Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, delivered the cautionary tale of the legal yin and yang of street violence on a puffy cloud bank of ganja smoke.

I’ve gone into some detail in this space about my indoctrination into the world of Jamaican music, but one of things I don’t remember discussing, and this is relevant to many other ethnic sounds, is how one must in effect season their ears before some music can be fully appreciated.

Reggae is huge in that respect.

The first Jamaican sounds I heard, weren’t really from the island at all, but rather ska revival records from the US and the UK, which were generally delivered at a breakneck pace. The first time I picked up a copy of ’20 Reggae Classics’ it was like I was a strap-hanger in a subway that suddenly slammed on the brakes. The radical adjustment in tempo, not to mention hearing lyrics delivered in real Jamaican accents and patois was quite literally jarring.

Eventually, I found myself grooving on the real stuff, and while I still dug the Two Tone sound, I now preferred the originals.

Thanks to yet another hip dude, I found my way from ska directly to dub, which made the transition to pure reggae a lot easier, so when I finally heard Junior Murvin singing his original recording of ‘Police and Thieves’ it sounded ‘right’, if you know what I mean, and the Clash, despite all their good intentions, did not.

If you ever get the chance, grab the Lee Perry ‘Arkology’ boxed set that came out a while back, which – in addition to just packing a very substantial helping of his genius – also contains several versions of the ‘Police and Thieves’ riddim, some more dubbed out than others (including the flip side of this 45 ‘Soldier and Police War’ with toasting by Jah Lion).

No matter how groovy the riddim, the real feature here is the vocal by Murvin, who comes on like a Jamaican incarnation of Eddie Kendricks.

Murvin’s original, released in 1976 was a hit in both Jamaica and the UK (there’s a video out there somewhere of Murvin singing the tune on English TV). The Clash followed with their cover a year later, and though they rev it up a notch or two (or six or seven), they also strip away many, many layers of subtlety. Murvin wades into the song gently and his version is a lament, whereas the Clash stomp through the tune with a raised fist.
Reportedly, when Junior Murvin heard the Clash version, he said ‘They have destroyed Jah work!’

The liner notes to ‘Arkology’ include this passage about the creation of ‘Police and Thieves’:

“The vibe of Black Ark studio is like people gather ‘round, everyday it start like ten o’clock in the mornin’, a kerosene pan is on the fire bubblin’ with some dumplin’, an’ some dread over there pickin’ some ackee an’ ting. Everybody throw in a little much to buy whatever we need. A guy might be out there with his guitar, chantin’ and Scratch is inside smokin’ a spliff, tunin’ in to that guy, who doesn’t even know that Scratch is tunin’ in to him. All of a sudden Scratch jus’ come out an’ say ‘Come inside here’. He search an’ find a riddim an’ say: “I hear dat, an’ I hear it on dis riddim!’ That’s how we did ‘Police and Thieves’, Junior Murvin. He was jus’ playin’ it and Scratch immediately came out an’ say ‘Here’s a riddim, let’s do it!’ an’ he do it an’ that’s it.
We were jus’ messin’ around with lyrics and the melody. Scratch say ‘Sounds good.’ He come out an’ decided to record it right away. It was out on the street in a couple of days. That’s the vibe we had at Black Ark – you didn’t have to say tomorrow or nex’ week, you go right now, you sound good, let’s go. It was fun days.” – Max Romeo

Jah work, indeed!

See you next week.

Peace

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 (2)

By Larry, November 2, 2013 4:09 pm

Bobby Parker

Listen/Download Bobby Parker – Watch Your Step

Greetings all

This is a previously unscheduled post, prompted when word came down the line that the mighty Bobby Parker, creator of the 45 you see before – only one of the greatest ever – had slipped the surly bonds of earth and passed on to his great reward at the age of 76.

I first posted ‘Watch Your Step’ no less than eight years ago (!?!) when Funky16Corners was in its early days.

I couldn’t let the man’s passing go without re-posting this remarkable 45.

I’ll see you on Monday.

Larry

Originally Posted 9/19/05

>>I hope you’ve had your coffee….

Because this record is a floor filling, foot stomping, ass kicking, brain melting slice of blues power from which the faint of heart will not soon recover….

No, really… it’s that good.

This is one of those records that I’d read about for years (having been a major Beatles fan as a kid), but never got to hear until a few years ago (I only scored the 45 in the last month).

Did you download the track yet?

Go ahead…I’ll wait…

There. Now listen to that opening riff – ring any bells???

Hmmmm…. How about ‘I Feel Fine’ and ‘Day Tripper’ by the Beatles (or dare I say ‘Moby Dick’ by Led Zeppelin)??? This is the “UR” riff, from whence those songs sprung (after being reprocessed by John Lennon and Jimmy Page respectively).

I have to tell you. When I was 12 years old I used to play ‘I Feel Fine’ two or three times a day (It’s still one of my fave Beatle tunes), mainly because of the guitar riff, and to be honest, Bobby Parker’s original carries the Beatles version out into the alley and kicks the crap out of it.

Back in 1961, when Parker first unleashed this beast on the world, it didn’t make much of a dent in the charts*. That didn’t stop it from becoming a favorite of those in the know, spawning covers by The John Barry Seven, Spencer Davis Group, Billy Harner, Adam Faith, Tony Jackson, Manfred Mann, The Undertakers and The Walker Brothers (on their Japanese live LP)**, and making a lasting impression on the Beatles, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and Carlos Santana who reportedly decided to play the guitar after seeing Parker play.

That said, it would be unfair to end the story there, because no matter how many people stole the riff, no matter how many people cite Parker as a seminal influence (and he’s still playing today), to focus solely on the peripheral aspects of ‘Watch Your Step’ is to dance around the fact that it is an absolutely shit-hot record that in a just world would have been a huge hit.

Bobby Parker was born in Louisiana and raised in California (where he worked with Don & Dewey and Johnny Otis among others). He spent the 50’s touring with the likes of Bo Diddley, Jackie Wilson, and Paul ‘Hucklebuck’ Williams , and recorded his first record ‘Blues Get Off My Shoulder’ for VeeJay in 1958 (this is the record that Robert Plant has cited as the reason he started singing).

He relocated to Washington, DC in 1961, where he would build a rep playing local clubs. He waxed ‘Watch Your Step’ for Philadelphia’s V-Tone label (associated with the Len label) in 1961 (it was actually released twice in the UK, on London in 1961 and Sue in 1964).

The record opens with a fanfare (as any disc this mighty should), which is followed (after a short dramatic pause) by Parker’s smoking guitar, and the rolling, Latin-flavored drums (another part of ‘Watch Your Step’ that would end up in ‘I Feel Fine’).

Parker’s vocal – sounding like Ray Charles and Bobby Bland had a rocking baby – wails powerfully through the verses, being chased by the horn section. The tempo builds through the song as Parker is joined by backing vocals and a hot little sax solo. Parker has been described as a cross between Buddy Guy and James Brown, and it’s not hard to imagine him working up a sweat on stage with this one.

Parker would record sporadically through the 60’s, waxing a 45 (‘I Won’t Believe It Till I See It’ as Little Bobby Parker) for the ultra-rare DC soul label Shrine, where the Cautions would record a version of ‘Watch Your Step’.

He also toured in the UK where he would record for the Blue Horizon label in 1968 (the same label that released the earliest Fleetwood Mac albums).

Though he toured relentlessly (and was a major hit in DC area blues clubs), he wouldn’t record again until the early 90’s for the Blacktop label.

Keep an eye peeled for a PBS special called ‘John Lennon’s Jukebox’ which features a recent interview with Parker as part of a fascinating look into what Lennon was listening to during the Beatles peak years.

Keep the faith

Larry

*I was stunned to discover that ‘Watch Your Step’ did not hit the national R&B charts at all, hitting the pop charts regionally, almost exclusively on the west coast

*’Watch Your Step’ was also covered in the 70’s by Dr. Feelgood, in the 80’s by Santana, and in the 90’s by the Kaisers

 

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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 31, 2013 11:28 am

The Unifics

Listen/Download The Unifics – It’s All Over

Listen/Download The Unifics – It’s a Groovy World

Greetings all

The end of the week is upon us, and so I must remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. You can also keep up with the show by subscribing as a podcast in iTunes.

Late last week I got word that Al Johnson, the lead singer of the mighty Unifics had passed away at the age of 65.

I’ve featured the Unifics here at Funky16Corners a few different times over the years.

Formed at Howard University (as Al and the Vikings)  in Washington, DC, they were one of the finest late 60s soul harmony groups, hitting the R&B Top 40 four different times (Top 10 twice) in 1968 and 1969.

The track I bring you today, ‘It’s All Over’ is one of my favorites from their 1968 LP “Court of Love’ (the title tune was their first, and biggest hit in 1968).

Check out the Unifics performing ‘Court of Love’ on TV:

Written by the group’s producer Guy Draper, ‘It’s All Over’ features a groovy arrangement, with pumping bass, understated horns and some great falsetto harmonies by the Unifics.

Johnson’s lead is typically wonderful and, the bass breakdown midway through the song is incredible.

The Unifics broke up in the early 70s, with Johnson going on to a career as a songwriter and producer.

I’m also reposting my fave Unifics track ‘It’s a Groovy World’.

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.
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.