Comments (0)

By Larry, June 4, 2015 12:14 pm

Ben Aiken

Listen/Download – Ben Aiken – If I Told You Once (I Told You a Million Times)

Listen/Download – Ben Aiken – You Were Meant To Be My Baby

Greetings all.

As the end of the week is near, allow me to remind you once again about the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which takes to the airwaves of the interwebs each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can keep up with the show by subscribing to it as a podcast in iTunes, listening on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or by grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

Also, all mixed are in-house, and the go date for this years’s Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive will be 6/15, with a new mix being posted every weekday for the next few weeks. This year you’ll get mixes from Ben Gibson (Mo’Soul), DJ Prime Mundo, DJ Prestige, Tarik Thornton, Chris Lujan, Vincent the Soul Chef, DJ Bluewater, DJ RP of Funkdefy, HeavySoulBrutha and of course, two new assemblages from my own crates!

There’s a groovy new badge for this year’s premium (and lots of stickers), so dial into the vault and get ready!

Today’s selection found its way into my crates via that old standby, brand loyalty.

I was out digging at a stoop sale, and though I had never heard of Ben Aiken before I put my hands on this 45, seeing the Loma label, and the name of the mighty Jerry Ragovoy, it moved immediately to the keeper pile, and came home with me.

Possessed of an Eddie Holman level tenor, with a sweet touch, and based in Philadelphia, Aiken recorded a string of 45s for labels like Squire, Roulette (he had his biggest success with his 1965 Roulette 45 ‘Stay Together Young Lovers’), Loma and Philly Groove between 1965 and 1972. I have also seen references that seem to indicate that he also sang with a number of other groups on Philly Groove during his time with the label.

‘If I Told You Once (I Told You a Million Times)’, written and produced by Ragovoy and arranged by Herb Bernstein was Aiken’s first 45 for Loma in 1967.

A classic Ragovoy ballad, ‘If I Told You Once…’ starts off slow and easy, but picks up a little steam with a really interesting key change in the bridge.

Aiken’s vocals are excellent, and the flip ‘You Were Meant to Be My Baby’ is a nice, upbeat dancer.

Once again, another excellent Jerry Ragovoy production is cast into the ether and inexplicably, all but ignored by the listening public.

As far as I can tell, you can only pick up Aiken’s Loma material on original 45s, or on the series of Loma reissue LPs that came out in the 70s. His later Philly Groove stuff is accessible on a Collectables CD.

I hope you dig the tracks, and I’l see you all next week.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, May 28, 2015 10:13 am

Miss Mable John

Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time, Same Place

Eddie Jones – Let’s Stop Fooling Ourselves (Fairmount)
Andy Butler – Take Me (TRC)
Mable John – Same Time Same Place (Stax)
Steve Colt and the 45s – So far Away (RCA)
Vanguards – Somebody Please (Whiz)
Invincibles – Heart Full of Love(WB)
Tyrone Davis – Knock On Wood (Dakar)
Barbara Perry – Unlovable (Goldwax)
Ike and Tina Turner – Too Many Ties That Bind (Minit)
Carl Hall – You Don’t Know Nothing About Love (Loma)
Gloria Jones – When He Touches Me (Minit)
Soul Brothers Six – Somebody Else Is Loving My Baby (Atlantic)
Jackie Verdell – I’m Your Girl (Decca)
Grover Mitchell with St John and the Cardinals – Sweeter As the Days Go By (Josie)
Homer Banks – Lady of Stone (Minit)
Johnny and the Expressions – Something I Want To Tell You (Josie)
McKinley Travis – Baby Is There Something On Your Mind (Soultown)
Soul Clan – That’s How I Feel (Atlantic)
Walter Scott and the Kapers – I Want To Thank You (Ivanhoe)
William Bell – You Don’t Miss Your Water (Stax)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time Same Place 110MB/Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is this week’s episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We come to you each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl.

Also, the 2015 Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive is approaching rapidly. There’s a grip of outstanding mixes ready to roll, so watch this space for details!

Speaking of original vinyl, the flow of it into the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault has continued unabated, and inside that tidal wave of wax has been a goodly amount of those classic soul ballads.

As a collector/appreciator, I came to the world of ballads fairly late in the game, but I hve been making up for lost time.

So prodigious has been the accumulation, that I felt the time was right for a new ballad mix, so here it is.

There is a lot of southern soul in here, but also a couple of stylish west coast items, with stops in Chicago and Philadelphia as well.

As they say on the streets, ‘It’s all good’, but there are some highlights that bear mentioning.

You have to check out Andy Butler’s very groovy take on Bobby Womack’s ‘Take Me’, hardcore honky Steve Colt’s old-school JB-isms in ‘So Far Away’, the lo-fi, gospel-inflected perfection of the Invincibles’ ‘Heart Full of Love’, Ike and Tina bringing it on the b-side with ‘Too Many Ties That Bind’, Carl Hall’s epic ‘You Don’t Know Nothing About Love’, Gloria Jones covering Rodge Martin’s ‘When He Touches Me’, the mighty Soul Clan and ‘That’s How I Feel’ and reliably genius contributions from Mable John, Homer Banks, the Soul Brothers Six, Grover Mitchell, William Bell and many more.

What you get here is ‘Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time, Same Place’, an hour of the finest soulful pleading, shouting and wailing, reaching back into the amen corner, and out into heartbreak alley.

I’ve been spinning this one non-stop since putting it together, so you know it’ll be good.

I hope you dig it (spread the word), and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 12, 2015 11:22 am

Fantastic Johnny C

Listen/Download – Fantastic Johnny C – (She’s) some Kind of Wonderful

Greetings all.

I was recently doing a little of that ‘internal digging’ thing, heading back into the crates to turn the earth as it were and see what I might dig up for the radio show and the blog.

One of the first things I pulled out was the Fantastic Johnny C’s 1968 LP.

Johnny Corley was one of several acts in the Philadelphia area associated with (and largely controlled by) Jesse James.

Though he was born in Greenville, SC, Corley came of age in Philadelphia and hit the charts three times in 1967 and 1968, his biggest success coming with ‘Boogaloo Down Broadway’ which was Top Ten on both the Pop and R&B charts.

Phil LA of Soul decided to do an entire album on him in 1968, which included a nice balance of originals and covers of tunes by Robert Parker, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Ben E King.

One of the other covers is today’s selection, a very nice version of the Soul Brothers Six’s ‘(She’s) Some Kind of Wonderful’.

The original version by the SB6 had hit with the song (on Alantic) the previous year, and would eventually relocate from their Upstate NY base to Philadelphia.

Fantastic Johnny C’s version of the song is excellent (as is the rest of the LP) with a very nice, horn-laden backing track. It’s interesting to hear the song with a slick arrangement and (more importantly) a solo voice, as opposed to the harmonies of the SB6.

If you get the chance to pick up the ‘Boogaloo Down Broadway’ LP, grab it, since it is uniformly excellent and also includes the Northern-style killer ‘New Love’.

Fantastic Johnny C went on to record the Philly funk classic ‘Let’s Do It Together’ for the local Branding Iron label (it was picked up for national distribution by Kama Sutra) and continued to record for Phil LA of Soul into the 70s.

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

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, February 12, 2015 1:07 pm

Frank Wilson – Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)
Charlie Rich – Dance Of Love
Darrell Banks – Our Love Is In the Pocket
Jackie Wilson – I Get the Sweetest Feeling
Eddie Bo and Inez Cheatham – Lover and a Friend
Charlie Earlands Erector Set – Cherie Amour
JJ Barnes – Hold On To It
Spinners – Sweet Thing
Sand Pebbles – Love Power
Platters – Sweet Sweet Loving
Lee Dorsey and Betty Harris – Love Lots of Lovin’
Len Barry – I Struck It Rich
Producers – Love Is Amazing
Lee Williams and the Cymbals – It’s Everything About You That I Love
Broadways – You Just Don’t Know Good You Make Me Feel
Velvelettes – Since You’ve Been Loving Me
Soul Brothers Six – Your Love Is Such a Wonderful Love
Wilson Pickett – Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Valentine’s Mix: Dance of Love – 86MB Mixed Mp3/256K

Greetings all.

Hey everybody!

The weekend is nigh, and that means that it’s almost Funky16Corners Radio Show time. We come to you each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove all on original vinyl. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always keep up by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listening on your mobile device through the TuneIn ap, or grabbing yourself an MP3 here at the blog.

Valentines Day is almost here, and what better way to celebrate than re-upping one of my favorite Funky16Corners mixes, Dance of Love.

First posted in 2012, and dedicated (then and always) to my lovely wife, it’s a collection of some of my favorite soulful love songs, mostly on the danceable tip, so that you might grab the one you love and cut yourselves a slice of rug.

And even if you’re not presently attached, slap this one on, turn it up, open up the windows and before you know it you’ll be swamped in potential romantic partners!

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, November 27, 2014 8:11 am

Mmmmmmmm!

Greetings all!

I first gathered these food-related mixes together for Thanksgiving 2011.

Since the Grogans will be chilling together this extended weekend, I thought I’d repost them for you to stuff into your ears/iPods/whatever.

There’s even a turkey song!

Don’t forget to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t dig it at airtime, make sure to subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen in on your mobile device through the TuneIn app, or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, have a great weekend with your friends and family, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

 
___________________________________________________________________________

Funky16Corners Radio v.3 – Soul Food (That’s What I Like) Pt1

Track listing

Brother Jack McDuff – Hot Barbecue (Prestige)

 Soul Runners – Chittlin’ Salad Pt1 (MoSoul)

Lionel Hampton – Greasy Greens (GladHamp)

Albert Collins – Cookin’ Catfish (20th Century)

Andre Williams – Rib Tips (Avin)

Maurice Simon & The Pie Men – Sweet Potato Gravy (Carnival)

Mel Brown – Chicken Fat (Impulse)

Lonnie Youngblood – Soul Food (That’s What I Like) (Fairmount)

Prime Mates – Hot Tamales (Sansu)

Just Brothers – Sliced Tomatoes (Music Merchant)

Leon Haywood – Cornbread and Buttermilk (Decca)

Bobby Rush – Chicken Heads (Galaxy)

Booker T & The MGs – Jelly Bread (Stax)

Gentleman June Gardner – Mustard Greens (Blue Rock)

West Siders – Candy Yams (Infinity)

Hank Jacobs – Monkey Hips and Rice (Sue)

George Semper – Collard Greens (Imperial)

Billy Clark & His Orchestra – Hot Gravy (Dynamo)

Listen Download Mixed MP3

__________________________________________________________________

Funky16Corners Radio v.9 – Soul Food Pt2

Playlist

1. Simtec Simmons – Tea Box (Maurci)

2. Johnny Barfield & The Men of S.O.U.L. – Soul Butter (SSS Intl)

3. Ronnie Woods – Sugar Pt2 (Everest)

4. Stan Hunter & Sonny Fortune – Corn Flakes (Prestige)

5. Fabulous Counts – Scrambled Eggs (Moira)

6. Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band – Spreadin Honey (Keymen)

7. Freddie Roach – Brown Sugar (Blue Note)

8. Albert Collins – Sno Cone Pt1 (TCF Hall)

9. Chuck Edwards – Chuck Roast (Rene)

10. Willie Mitchell – Mashed Potatoes (Hi)

11. Booker T & The MGs – Red Beans & Rice (Atlantic)

12. Righteous Brothers Band – Green Onions (Verve)

13. George Semper – Hog Maws & Collard Greens (Imperial)

14. Lee Dorsey – Candy Yam (Amy)

15. Roosevelt Fountain & his Pens of Rhythm – Red Pepper Pt1 (Prince Adams)

16. Bad Boys – Black Olives (Paula)

17. Willie Bobo – Spanish Grease (Verve)

18. American Group – Enchilada Soul (AGP)

DOWNLOAD – 39.3 MB Mixed MP3

__________________________________________________________________________

Funky16Corners Radio v.60 – Finger Lickin’ Good!

Funky16Corners Radio v.60 – Finger Lickin’ Good!

Playlist

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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, September 18, 2014 11:03 am

Listen/Download The Naked Truth – The Shing-a-Ling Thing

Listen/Download The Naked Truth – The Stripper

Greetings all

Don’t forget that the end of the week is nigh, so the Funky16Corners Radio Show, dropping every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio isn’t far off. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes.

The track I bring you today is a testament to the value of carrying piles of otherwise useless facts around in your head at all times.

As has been stated here many a time, I spent a lot of years chasing down as much Philly soul as my greedy little hands (and not so little ears) could grab.

One of the things I always do – with records from Philly, or any other area – is to try and get a handle on the major players in any scene, i.e. musicians, songwriters, producers and arrangers. This information will allow you – in the absence of specific discographical data – to gather up 45s you might otherwise have passed over.

While I had never heard of the Naked Truth, when I picked up the 45, aside from the title ‘The Shing-a-ling Thing’ (note to fledgling collectors of 60s soul, pick up any and all ‘shingaling’ records), I noticed several names on the label that indicated that this was a Philadelphia-based record.

The disc was arranged by Richie Rome, a Madara-White production, and co-written by none other than Leon Huff.

Needless to say (though you can already see I’m going to say it anyway…) I put this one in the keeper pile and brought it home.

As it turns out, ‘The Shing-a-ling Thing’ is a groovy, pulsing dancer that has its share of devotees on the Northern Soul dance floors ( I would not be surprised to find out that it is Mr Huff tickling the ivories on the record).

My guess is that ‘The Shing-a-ling Thing’ was a throwaway b-side, with the cover of David Rose’s ‘The Stripper’ being the selling point (thus ‘The Naked Truth’).

Why this crew thought to resuscitate ‘The Stripper’ (which had been a huge hit in 1962) as a fairly hard-hitting organ instro in 1967 is a mystery, though I suspect that it has something to do with a popular commercial for Noxzema shaving cream, that used ‘The Stripper’ as its backing music that year.

Interestingly, the Naked Truth’s version of ‘the Stripper’ charted briefly in Philadelphia in the fall of 1967.

It’s pretty cool, which is why I’m including it here.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 29, 2014 12:09 pm

Listen/Download The Moods – King Hustler

Greetings all

Welcome to the middle of the week.

The tune I bring you today is a very funky number by some Volcanos in transition.

At some point after they recorded their Harthon 45s (the one with the funky b-sides), and the departure of Gene Faith to go solo, but before they would emerge as the Trammps, the gentlemen of the Volcanos would record two (and a half) 45s as the Moods.

What information I have been able to find seems to place the 45s in question around 1970.

The group released three 45s.

The first – ‘Rainmaker’ b/w ‘Lady Rain’ came out on Wand in 1970.

The one you see before you today, ‘King Hustler’ b/w ‘Hustling’ was released on the local Philly label (maybe one-off) Reddog that same year.

The third – on Scepter – re-used ‘King Hustler’ on the a-side, placing it with a new flipside, ‘With a Woman’.

‘King Hustler’ is a great, hard-edged, Blaxploitation groover that is reminiscent of some of the heavier things the Temptations were laying down around the same time.

The song – co-written by Sherman Marshall and Len Barry – features lyrics that reference Philadelphia’s famous South Street, and going to see ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ at the movies (!?).

The group would reconvene as the Trammps two years later.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, April 3, 2014 12:28 pm

Euro P/S for ‘Wan-Tu-Wah-Zuree’

Listen/Download George Tindley – Wan-Tu-Wah-Zuree

Greetings all

The end of the week is rolling in, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, coming to you this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at airti,e you can always stay abreast of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove (all on original vinyl) by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes or by grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

Today’s selection is one of those records that I scooped up in an early Philly soul dragnet.

If you take one look at the label for George Tindley’s ‘Wan-Tu-Wah-Zuree’ it sends up a variety of Philadelphia-identifying red flags, most especially the names of Bobby Eli, Len Barry and John Madara.

When I first picked up the 45, I had no idea who George Tindley was.

As it turns out, he had a long and interesting performing history, which ended in 1970 with the release of this 45.

Tindley was a Philadelphia-area singer who got his start in the early 50s with the Dreams, a group that recorded several sides for the Savoy label in 1954.

He eventually joined Steve Gibson and the Red Caps, with whom he recorded a number of well-remembered doowop 45s in 1959 and 1960, before Tindley took over leadership duties (changing the group name to the Modern Red Caps), continuing on into 1966.

He eventually recorded three solo 45s for Wand in 1969 and 1970, all with Madara. One of them, ‘So Help Me Woman’ co-written by a young Daryl Hall.

His excellent cover of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ made it into the R&B Top 40 in  the summer of 1969, with this record just missing that mark  in the Spring of the following year.

‘Wan-Tu-Wah-Zuree’  – the title of which is a corruption of the Zulu phrase for ‘good people’ – sounds a lot like the kind of thing the Temptations were recording at Motown around the same time, but the backing track is 100% Philadelphia (listen for those Vince Montana vibes).

The record, which has a funky, upbeat rhythm with a pop edge, ought to have been a hit, but only managed minor regional airplay in and around Philadelphia.

It does not appear that Tindley worked as a performer after that, though he does have a number of production and arranging credits (C and the Shells, Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers, Evelyn Champagne King) in the 1970s.

I have seen a reference that indicates that Tindley passed away in the 1990s, but aside from that the trail goes cold.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

  _________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, November 5, 2013 1:55 pm

The Ambassadors

Listen/Download The Ambassadors – Good Love Gone Bad

Greetings all

The middle of the week is once again upon us, and what better way to scale (and overcome) the dreaded ‘hump’ than a tasty Philadelphia Northern Soul 45?

The mighty Ambassadors have been featured many times since the days of the Funky16Corners web zine, as well as in mixes for the blog, but as far as I can tell, never featured here on the front page.

Known best for their recordings for the storied Arctic label, the group also recorded three 45s for Atlantic prior to their association with the Philly powerhouse.

These 45s are all excellent, and well worth picking up if you can find them.

The tune I bring you today, ‘Good Love Gone Bad’ was the A-side of their second Atlantic 45 in 1968.

Co-written by Philly DJ/impresario Jimmy Bishop and Kenny Gamble (sans Huff), ‘Good Love Gone Bad’ features a predictably excellent Bobby Martin arrangement, and some excellent harmonies by the Ambassadors.

The record was a minor local hit in April of 1968, but doesn’t seem to have dented the national charts at all.

If you’re not familiar with the Ambassadors, you can hear a number of their songs in Funky16Corners mixes, and their Arctic material has been reissued as Soul Summit
.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 5, 2013 3:08 pm

Listen/Download The Producers – Love Is Amazing

Greetings all

The end of the week is approaching, so I will remind you once again to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show, Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you are otherwise occupied at airtime, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes or grab an MP3 at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is one of my favorite Philadelphia Northern Soul 45s, with a very interesting provenance that reaches back to the Motor City.

I picke up ‘Love Is Amazing’ by the Producers back in the early digging days, after having scored the other two 45s on the short-lived Huff Puff label (by the Landslides and Ruth McFadden).

Named for Leon Huff, Huff Puff existed for a short time (1968/69), with all of it’s released produced/arranged by Gamble and Huff with the usual gang, including Thom Bell and Bobby Martin.

None of the label’s releases appear to have generated any heat on the charts (even regionally) despite their obvious quality.

The side I bring you today, ‘Love Is Amazing’ was the third and final release on the label in 1969, and features a very interesting lead singer indeed.

Mikki Farrow got her start in Detroit (she was apparently once married to the mighty Mike Terry and later on to Billy Butler!) and recorded for a variety of labels (including the Northern fave ‘Set My Heart at Ease’ for Karate) before relocating to Philadelphia.

‘Love Is Amazing’ is one of those records that has everything going for it, from top-shelf songwriting (Kenny Gamble, Farrow and Thom Bell), fantastic production (Gamble/Huff) and a fantastic lead vocal by Farrow (I suspect that Gamble is the supporting make vocalist).

The record, matching superb melody and hooks with enough rhythmic heat for the dancers, ought to have been a hit, instead of the footnote that it is.

A superb 45 to end the week.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, August 29, 2013 9:22 am

Listen/Download The Ordells – Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee

Greetings all

The grand finale of the week is approaching, which means that it’s Funky16Corners Radio Show time again.

I come to you each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl.

If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab and MP3 here at the blog.

The tune I bring you this fine day is a long time favorite and a very, very deep selection.

I first grabbed my copy of the Ordells ‘Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee’ many years ago.

What brought me to it – aside from Philly soul completism – was the grooving, organ/guitar instro ‘Big Dom’ on the flip.

It wasn’t until it had been in my crates for more than a year that I finally flipped the disc over and had my mind blown.

There, hidden on the other side of the 45, was one of the most epic pieces of sweet soul I had ever heard.

Simply referring to it as sweet soul does ‘Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee’ a disservice, since it is for more than that.

Produced by Bob Finiz and arranged by Richie Rome, the tune is a stunning piece of atmospheric, otherworldly soul.

The instrumental track is layered with piano, tremolo guitar (verging on the psychedelic) and surging waves of strings, all wrapped in beautiful harmonies.

You often see the term “lost classic’ tossed about, but in this case it is entirely fitting.

‘Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee’ isn’t some wild outlier (see the Twilights ‘Shipwreck’). It is sublimely written, produced and performed, and would – in a just world – have been a huge hit.

Yet it doesn’t appear to have even charted in Philadelphia.

The Dionn label only released 13 45s (eight of which were by their biggest hitmakers Brenda and the Tabulations) and one LP (also B & the Ts) between 1966 and 1968.

The Ordells 45 was released in 1967 and as far as I can tell they never recorded another note. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that they had nothing at all to do with the instrumental, which leaves us with one, absolutely incredible performance, committed to vinyl and then largely forgotten.

I have seen several references that indicate that ‘Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee’ has similarly affected many others, and that it may have something of a lowrider following, but aside from that, it remains the property of soul collectors.

As far as I know it has never been reissued (or at least not currently), which is damn shame, since this is a record that people need to hear.

I hope you dig it, and that you have yourselves a great weekend.

See you on Monday

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, April 21, 2013 2:58 pm

Vince Montana

Listen/Download The Volcanos – Storm Warning

Listen/Download The Ethics – Think About Tomorrow

Listen/Download Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1

Listen/Download Brothers of Hope – Nickol Nickol

Listen/Download The Family – Family Affair

Listen/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes

Listen/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes (Club Mix)

Greetings all

It was with great sadness that I heard last week of the passing of the mighty Vincent Montana Jr.

Unless you’re a Philly soul or disco head, that name might not be familiar, but the music he helped to make over a career that lasted more than 50 years most certainly is.

Montana, known first and formost as a vibraphonist, but also a busy arranger and percussionist was one of the most important instrumentalists in the history of Philadelphia soul and funk.

Though he got his start backing local artists like Frankie Avalon, Montana went on to be one of the core members of the Philly “house band” that would become better known as MFSB.

His vibes stand out on countless Philly soul records from the mid-60s on, and his arrangers credit appeared on many of those record’s labels.

Montana’s work is all over various and sundry smaller local labels (and recorded under various band names) as well as just about every major Philadelphia International session.

Montana was also key in the formation of the Salsoul Orchestra, and through the disco era recorded with his own groups the Montana Sextet and Goody Goody.

The tracks I’ve selected really just scratch the surface of Montana’s catalog, but all touch on some important point.

The first is one of the greatest 60s soul 45s to come out of Philadelphia, and the first place I ever noticed Vince Montana coming through the mix as a sideman. ‘Storm Warning’ by the Volcanos is beloved by fans of classic soul, and Vince Montana’s vibes have a lot to do with that. Vibes are – at least to my ears – one of the key sonic elements in Northern Soul, along with the baritone sax, and Montana’s playing on ‘Storm Warning’ manages to keep driving the song forward while adding bright accents.

The Ethics are another great Philly vocal group. ‘Think About Tomorrow’, arranged by Montana, was a local hit in 1968. Give this one a couple of close listens and dig how Montana uses the strings, horns and vibes to frame the rhythm section. It’s an exquisite example of the kind of classy record that would come to represent the Philly sound.

Georgie Woods “The Guy With the Goods’ was a Philadelphia radio legend, who decided in the late 60s (like so many of his radio brethren around the country) to dip his toe into the world of recording. ‘Potato Salad’ – also arranged by Vince Montana – is an ‘adaptation’ of vibraphone legend Lionel Hampton’s ‘Greasy Greens’. You not only get to hear Woods laying down his rap, but also plenty of Montana’s vibes working their way through the mix.

The players that would form the core of MFSB would make records under a number of different names in the late 60s and early 70s. If you collect funk 45s, you’ve heard bands like the Interpretations, Hidden Cost, Daley’s Diggers, the Alliance, the Electric Indian and many more, all basically played by the same set of brilliant musicians, including Vince Montana.

My favorite of these pseudonymous 45s is ‘Nickol Nickol’ by the Brothers of Hope. One of the great, mid-tempo funk 45s of all time, ‘Nickol Nickol’ features Montana’s vibes throughout, but especially at the end where he lays down the ‘Eleanor Rigby’ quote in the run-off groove. This one was slept on for a long time, but the price has gone up considerably in the last few years.

The Family – Family Affair, acetate and North Bay 45

Though I’m not featuring any MFSB ‘proper’ in this post, the Family’s cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Family Affair’, which was first released on the North Bay label, is basically an edited version of the track that would appear on the first MFSB LP.

Vince Montana was – for most fo his career – a ‘background’ player, working behind the scenes, but in 1982 he had a dance hit in the US and the UK with the track ‘Heavy Vibes’. ‘Heavy Vibes’ is a sophisticated, jazzy/funky bit of disco, with plenty of vibes (naturally…). Here you get to check out both the edit and the extended club mix – both worth hearing.

Vince Montana was a master, and though he was more involved than most, he was a very solid example of the importance of the unseen/unheralded musicians that provide the backing for the music we love. People will do lip service to the house bands of labels like Stax, ensembles like the Funk Brothers or the Muscle Shoals group, but only the people with their heads (and ears) deep in the game know who the individual components of those outfits were, and that’s a shame.

The next time you hear the vibes ring through one of those great Philly records, elbow the cat next to you and say ‘That’s Vince Montana.’

I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

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.