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By Larry, December 23, 2018 11:01 am

Funky16Corners Christmas Party!
Ike and Tina Turner – Merry Christmas Baby (WB)
Otis Redding – White Christmas (Atco)
Soulful Strings – Jingle Bells (Cadet)
Albert King – Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’ (Stax)
Felice Taylor – It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring) (Mustang)
Honey and the Bees – Jing Jing a Ling (Chess)
The Gems – Love For Christmas (Chess)
James Brown – Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto (King)
Charles Brown – Merry Christmas Baby (Jewel)
Count Sidney and the Dukes – Soul Christmas (Goldband)
Donny Hathaway – This Christmas (Atco)
Bobby Holloway – Funky Little Drummer Boy (Smash)
Clarence Carter – Backdoor Santa (Atlantic)
Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get It Together This Christmas (Fania)
J Hines and the Boys – A Funky X-Mas To You (Nation-Wide)
Freddy King – I Hear Jingle Bells (Federal)
Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore – All I Want For Christmas Is Your Love (Imperial)
Johnny and Jon – Christmas in Viet Nam (Jewel)
John Lee Hooker – Blues For Christmas (Elmor)
George Conedy – El Nino Del Tambor (Kent Gospel)
Soulful Strings (feat Dorothy Ashby) – Merry Christmas Baby (Cadet)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Christmas Party 124MB MP3

Greetings all.

The holiday season is upon us, so I thought I’d repost this classic mix, last seen in 2016.

I hope you dig it, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, that you have a fantastic day!

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, December 24, 2017 1:34 pm

Harold Johnson

Listen/Download – Harold Johnson – Greensleeves MP3

Greetings all.

I hope that the new week and the holiday season finds you all well.

The tune I bring you today is a Christmas favorite that got its start as decidedly secular English folk ballad in the 1500s, eventually being appropriated as the Christmas song ‘What Child Is This’ in 1865.

It has been recorded countless times in a variety of styles by a long list of performers.

Today’s selection, by jazz pianist Harold Johnson appeared on his 1970 LP ‘Wide Open’.

‘Wide Open’ is a fantastic example of alternately funky/straight soul jazz piano laying down a selection of originals and contemporary covers.

Johnson’s version of ‘Greensleeves’ gets off to a hot start with congas and bass, before being joined by a hard-hitting drummer, and then Johnson himself.

It is an aggressive arrangement of a song that is usually delivered in a much more languid style, and it works very well indeed.

Johnson and his group had recorded two earlier albums, one on the small LA H.M.E. label and the second (like this one) for Revue.

Oddly, after 1970 Johnson worked mostly as a sideman on a string of LPs by Eddie Kendricks, Willie Hutch and others and as a composer and arranger.

I hope you dig the tune, and that you all have a happy holiday.

See you next week

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

________________________________________________

If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, December 22, 2016 11:24 am

Funky16Corners Christmas Party!
Ike and Tina Turner – Merry Christmas Baby (WB)
Otis Redding – White Christmas (Atco)
Soulful Strings – Jingle Bells (Cadet)
Albert King – Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’ (Stax)
Felice Taylor – It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring) (Mustang)
Honey and the Bees – Jing Jing a Ling (Chess)
The Gems – Love For Christmas (Chess)
James Brown – Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto (King)
Charles Brown – Merry Christmas Baby (Jewel)
Count Sidney and the Dukes – Soul Christmas (Goldband)
Donny Hathaway – This Christmas (Atco)
Bobby Holloway – Funky Little Drummer Boy (Smash)
Clarence Carter – Backdoor Santa (Atlantic)
Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get It Together This Christmas (Fania)
J Hines and the Boys – A Funky X-Mas To You (Nation-Wide)
Freddy King – I Hear Jingle Bells (Federal)
Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore – All I Want For Christmas Is Your Love (Imperial)
Johnny and Jon – Christmas in Viet Nam (Jewel)
John Lee Hooker – Blues For Christmas (Elmor)
George Conedy – El Nino Del Tambor (Kent Gospel)
Soulful Strings (feat Dorothy Ashby) – Merry Christmas Baby (Cadet)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Christmas Party 124MB MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is nigh and so then is the Christmas Edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which arrives each and every Friday with a selection of platters, soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all original. You can subscribe  to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via Stitcher and TuneIn, grab it on Mixcloud or get an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com

What you have here is a re-posting of last year’s Funky16Corners Christmas Party mix, which gathers together an hour-long selection of holiday favorites that have been posted here over the years into one nice, juicy, festive, jingling, jolly package.

There’s all manner of soul and funk (and even a little blues) and it’s the perfect soundtrack for your wassailing, cider-mulling, gift giving and general merriment.

I hope you dig it, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, that you have a fantastic day!

See you next week with some special post-holiday collections.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

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.

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By Larry, December 20, 2016 11:34 am

Freddy King

Greetings all.

We continue our tunes for the holidays with the flipside of a Freddy King record I posted last year around this time ‘I Hear Jingle Bells’).

This side is the bluesier, more melancholy ‘Christmas Tears’.

Released in 1961, and written by pianist Sonny Thompson (who plays on the track) and R.C. Wilson, it features King as rock solid guitarist (the role for which he is best known) and as an excellent vocalist (the part of the equation that is often forgotten).

King had a great tenor voice with enough flexibility to soar high into the rafters whenever he needed to.

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

We’ll be back right before Christmas with the Funky16Corners Christmas Party Mix.

Until then, be safe, be jolly (and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, just keep on being cool), and stay warm.

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.

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By Larry, December 18, 2016 12:25 pm

The Staple Singers

Greetings all.

I thought we’d get our holiday festivities underway this year with a lovely two-sider from the mighty Staple Singers.

Originally recorded at part of their 1962 LP ‘The 25th Day of December’, ‘There Was a Star’ and ‘The Virgin Mary Had One Son’ were also released as a 45 that same year.

I have gone on in this space before about the pure, elemental power of the Staple Singers records, combining their group harmonies, Mavis’s soaring, explosive voice, and Pops’ Delta-rooted guitar playing into a thing of pure beauty.

‘There Was a Star’, written by Pops, and William Westbrook (though the 45 lists a third composer with the last name of ‘Rice’ but I haven’t been able to find out who that is, and most other sources only list the two writers), features a great lead by Mavis and call-and-response harmonies by Pops, Pervis and Cleotha. The backing is very spare, mainly Pops guitar, drums and a very judiciously applied organ popping in now and then.

‘The Virgin Mary Had One Son’ is a slow, almost mournful traditional song delivered with Mavis in the lead and group harmony over a bed of Pops vibrato guitar and drawn out organ notes. I haven’t been able to find any information about the source of the song, but it was also covered around the same time by Bob Gibson and Joan Baez together, and by Baez solo.

The 45 is a great microcosm of the earlier Staples sound, and like everything they ever recorded, a pure pleasure to listen to.

So dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something by Freddy King.

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.

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By Larry, December 24, 2015 9:50 am

Funky16Corners Christmas Party!
Ike and Tina Turner – Merry Christmas Baby (WB)
Otis Redding – White Christmas (Atco)
Soulful Strings – Jingle Bells (Cadet)
Albert King – Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’ (Stax)
Felice Taylor – It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring) (Mustang)
Honey and the Bees – Jing Jing a Ling (Chess)
The Gems – Love For Christmas (Chess)
James Brown – Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto (King)
Charles Brown – Merry Christmas Baby (Jewel)
Count Sidney and the Dukes – Soul Christmas (Goldband)
Donny Hathaway – This Christmas (Atco)
Bobby Holloway – Funky Little Drummer Boy (Smash)
Clarence Carter – Backdoor Santa (Atlantic)
Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get It Together This Christmas (Fania)
J Hines and the Boys – A Funky X-Mas To You (Nation-Wide)
Freddy King – I Hear Jingle Bells (Federal)
Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore – All I Want For Christmas Is Your Love (Imperial)
Johnny and Jon – Christmas in Viet Nam (Jewel)
John Lee Hooker – Blues For Christmas (Elmor)
George Conedy – El Nino Del Tambor (Kent Gospel)
Soulful Strings (feat Dorothy Ashby) – Merry Christmas Baby (Cadet)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Christmas Party 124MB MP3

Greetings all.

It is the end of the week, and so I will remind you to grab this week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. This year, instead of a Christmas-themed show, you get the third and final part of the

History of Allen Toussaint. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile devicevia the TuneIn app, or grab yourself an MP3 at the blog.

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Since this week’s Friday post falls on Christmas Day, I thought I’d gather together a selection of favorites from Christmases past, and whip together a Funky16Corners holiday mix.

These should all be familiar, and there are a couple tunes that show up twice (vocal and instrumental), but they should provide a festive accompaniment  to the burning of the Yule log.

I hope you dig it, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, that you have a fantastic day!

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.

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By Larry, December 22, 2015 11:55 am

Rotary Connection

Listen/Download – Rotary Connection – Sidewalk Santa MP3

Listen/Download – Rotary Connection – Silent Night Medley MP3

Greetings all.

Today, I offer you two tracks from of one the groovier holiday albums ever made on the soulful side of things.

Rotary Connection are mostly remembered today as the first place much of the world heard the voice of the mighty Minnie Riperton.

The group was of course, much more than that. Guided in the studio by the genius Charles Stepney, Rotary Connection created a unique mixture of soul and rock, crafting some of the most interesting albums of the day.

It helped that they had in their ranks, both Riperton and Sidney Barnes, the latter having made his mark as a singer and songwriter alongside no less a light than George Clinton.

Their Christmas LP ‘Peace’, released in 1968 is – unlike many holiday albums that only mash together a wad of familiar songs – a worthwhile listen all the way through.

The tracks that I bring you today illustrate both the group’s fine originals, as well as their mastery of interpreting classic material.

The first track, ‘Sidewalk Santa’, written and sung by Barnes is somewhat dark soundscape, featuring a heavy – yet tasteful – arrangement by Stepney.

The second cut is actually three of the album’s tracks mixed together (by me…). The group works their way through three versions of ‘Silent Night’, the first an almost jazz rendition of the traditional song, the second moving in a more rock interpretation, with fuzz guitar and Riperton’s wordless vocals, and the third, ‘Silent Night Chant’ letting its freak flag fly with the full rock treatment (the whole mix coming in at almost 15 minutes, more than half of the album).

It serves as both a great holiday sound, but also a doorway into the sounds of the Rotary Connection.

I hope you dig the tunes, and I’ll be back on Friday with a mix of soulful holiday faves.

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.

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By Larry, December 20, 2015 2:44 pm

Listen/Download – Shurfine Singers – Silent Night & the 11 O’Clock News MP3

Greetings all.

I have some groovy Christmas stuff for you this year – including a mix of favorites, dropping on Friday.
.
One of this year’s offerings is particularly intriguing because it is a “cover” of sorts.

If the medley of ‘Silent Night’ and a recording of a TV news broadcast sounds familiar (and it should) it’s because Simon & Garfunkel did it in 1966 as ‘Silent Night/7 O’Clock News’ on their LP ‘Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme’.

The juxtaposition of a revered/traditional Christmas song, and a news broadcast marred by reports of war was a stark (if somewhat heavy handed) reminder of what was at stake in the middle of the 1960s.

The following year, Atlanta-based producer Wendell Parker, who had worked with Eddie Billups, Grover Mitchell and the Mighty Hannibal (among others) assembled a gospel group called the Shurfine Singers (Parker had done a lot of work with the Atlanta-based Shurfine label) and released his own version of the medley, in a gospel style, (barely) re-titled ‘Silent Night & the 11 O’Clock News’.

No doubt an attempt to offer up the same message to a black audience, it is refreshing (and also somewhat jarring) to hear the familiar medley redone.

As far as I can tell this version didn’t chart anywhere, nor was it released locally on Shurfine (though Parker had placed a number of his productions with Josie).

The flipside is a version of the spiritual ‘Go Tell It On the Mountain’.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something festive.

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.

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By Larry, December 25, 2014 1:08 pm

Mamie Galore and Dee Irwin

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. This week’s show features the Best of 2014 (Part two to follow next week). If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab yourself and MP3 here at the blog.

Today’s selection is yet another chapter in the ever unfolding saga of Dee Irwin.

The more of his records that I track down (whether billed as Big Dee Irwin, Dee Ervin, or Dee Erwin), the more I understand that he was both an excellent singer, and songwriter.

The record I bring you today, ‘All I Want For Christmas is Your Love’ was the b-side of the first of three duet 45s that Irwin would record with Mamie Galore for the Imperial label in 1968 and 1969.

Recorded with Monk Higgins in Chicago (and written by Higgins as well), ‘All I Want For Christmas Is Your Love’ is a slow, mellow tune, with solid vocals by both Irwin and Galore, and a nice arrangement by Higgins (listen hard for the lead guitar and the backing vocals, both subtle but excellent).

Both Irwin and Galore are singers that deserve to be better known. They both have impressive discographies (albeit spread over a number of 45s), both worked as both vocalist and songwriter, but neither ever really broke through to a wider audience.

‘All I Want For Christmas Is Your Love’ is the perfect soundtrack to that mellow, post-presents chill time, so 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.

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By Larry, December 23, 2014 11:37 am

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is here, and so (almost) is Christmas.

Today’s selection is a record that I’d heard of before, but only put my hands on a copy earlier this year.

‘Christmas in Viet Nam’ by Johnny & Jon was released at the height of the war in 1966.

It’s a slow moving bit of deep soul, with great trade-off lead vocals, pulsing bass, dirge-like organ and cool guitar.

Johnny & Jon were John Wilson and John Wessler, and per the always reliable Sir Shambling, they only ever laid down this one 45.

There were a grip of Vietnam War-related soul records, including ‘The Lonely Soldier’ by Mike Williams, ‘A Soldier’s Prayer’ by Archie Bell and the Drells, and ‘Marching Off to War’ by William Bell among many others.

There were actually (at least) two other records called ‘Christmas in Viet Nam’,one by Private Charles Bowens (on Rojac) and another by the Soul Searchers (probably a gospel outfit, not the DC group, on the Peacock subsidiary Song Bird).

The subject matter is a little grim, but it’s a great song, and a stark reminder that with every war, families are separated, and that we ought to think of those that can’t be with their loved ones at this time of year.

So dig the tune, have yourself a Merry Christmas (if you celebrate).

I’ll see you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, December 21, 2014 12:41 pm

Baby Washington

Greetings all.

Today’s post begins our second week of Christmas-related soul, and what better way to start than with a tasty 45 by the great Baby Washington.

Justine ‘Baby’ Washington started her career in the mid-50s as a member of the Hearts, then an early incarnation of the Jaynetts before embarking on a solo recording career that lasted three decades.

Baby Washington had a string of R&B hits that lasted from 1959 to 1980, the bulk of them recorded for the Sue label.

Today’s selection, ‘White Christmas’ was originally issued on Sue in 1966 (with ‘Silent Night’ on the flip), then issued again on Veep in 1967.

Washington’s version of ‘White Christmas’ chugs along at a mid-tempo pace (the bass and drums are DEEP) with a great lead vocal, and some cool backing vocals.

The arrangement (by Frank Williams) has enough kick for the dancers, with some brass and strings mixed just enough to be noticed, yet not so much that the grit disappears.

What’s interesting is that the original Sue release is much sparer affair, with the strings, horns and backing singers added on for the Veep issue in 1967.

I’m still undecided which version I like better. If you go back and listen to the original, it has a great, basic soulful kick which I dig. However, the additions on the version I’m posting here today never rise to the level of gilding the lily, having been applied wisely.

All I know, is now I have to go out and find a copy of the Sue version.

I hope you dig the record, 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.

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By Larry, December 18, 2014 1:44 pm

Freddy King

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show Christmas Special! Join me this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio for an hour of the best soulful and funky Christmas tunes. If you can’t join me at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device through the TuneIn app, or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

I thought it would be cool to close out the week with a Christmas 45 by one of my personal favorites, the mighty Freddy King.

Freddy King was a master of the guitar who recorded a grip of very tasty blues, R&B, soul and funk records between 1960 and his untimely death in 1976.

He got his start recording for the Federal label, racking up an impressive string of R&B hits in 1961 (four Top 10 hits that year!) including his debut hit ‘Hideaway’ (a big influence on the British R&Beat crowd) and ‘San-Ho-Zay’.

He recorded for Federal and King through the ’60s, eventually moving on to Cotillion and then Shelter.

King was – like Albert Collins – a cat who is thought of today as a blues player, but was much more than that, recording searing rock and R&B, soul and even funk, eventually settling into a blues groove late in his career.

His Federal 45s are indispensable, and ought to be grabbed whenever they are encountered in the field.

Though he was nothing if not prolific, it would appear that his 1961 45 ‘I Hear Jingle Bells’ b/w ‘Christmas Tears’ was his only holiday effort.

Opening with (naturally) a quote from ‘Jingle Bells’, soon followed by King’s high, clear tenor, some piano and his own razor sharp guitar, ‘I Hear Jingle Bells’ is a rocking pleasure from start to finish.

Freddy King was a badass of the first order, and if you get a chance you should shuffle on over to Youtube and check out his performances on the mid-60s TV show ‘The Beat’.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you with some more Christmas ish 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.