Funky16Corners

Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers – I Can’t Turn You Loose

By Larry, January 19, 2012 6:25 am

Benny Gordon
(pic borrowed from Red Kelly at the B-Side)

~~Listen/Download -Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers – I Can’t Turn You Loose~~

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today is the result of a longtime obsession.

I have been picking up 45s by Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers for well over a decade, when, and wherever I find them.

For years they remained an almost complete mystery, aside from one 45 that suggested to me (correctly as it turns out) that they hailed from South Carolina.

Then, a few years back, my man Red Kelly, captain of the mighty B-Side blog (and many others) put up a couple of different posts that blew the whole thing wide open, revealing that Benny Gordon and Sammy Gordon (of the Hip Huggers) were first cousins and bandmates, but also that although they started out in the Carolinas, they did most of their heavy lifting in New York City.

The Benny Gordon discography stretches from about 1962 to 1973, with the Soul Brothers label being employed from 1964 to 1967.

The first Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers 45 I ever found was their cover of JD Bryant’s ‘Get It (Come and Get It)’ and since then have come to consider them among the finest of what I have often referred to as ‘journeyman’ soul groups, i.e. artists that seemed to have worked long and hard, for a variety of labels, without ever really breaking through to a higher level of success.

The group was the house band at Trude Heller’s discotheque in New York City and even played at Truman Capote’s famous Black and White Ball in 1966.

Their extremely energetic cover of Otis Redding’s ‘I Can’t Turn You Loose’ sounds every bit the work of a seasoned soul band.

Moving at double (and a half?) speed Benny and the band really work it out.

I would relish the opportunity to whip this one on a crowd of well-oiled dancers.

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

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.