Billy Vera Goes to Mardi Gras!
The mighty Billy Vera
Listen/Download – Billy Vera – Big Chief (Tu Way Poca Way)
Greetings all.
The tune I bring you today – in a very special early mid-week post – is something very cool that I picked up last year.
I’m not sure I recall exactly how I came upon this one, but I suspect I was digging through the wilds of the intertubes for vinyl by one of my all-time favorite soul men, the mighty Billy Vera.
Though folks of a certain vintage may only be familiar with Vera’s huge 1987 #1 Pop hit ‘At This Moment’, he had a long history before that. I’m a big fan of his 1960s duet work with Judy Clay (Storybook Children, Country Girl City Man etc) as well as one of my all-time favorite 45s (billed as a Billy & Judy duet but actually just Vera and his band) ‘Really Together’.
He worked through the 60s and 70s as a songwriter and performer, recording for Cameo and Atlantic, as well as a number of smaller labels.
He’s also an actor, and most importantly (at least to me) a serious record collector who has annotated several reissue projects.
Up until I scored this killer, I had no familiarity at all with his 70s stuff, and no idea that he had ever worked in Memphis with the legendary Steve Cropper.
The real reason for whipping ‘Big Chief (Tu- Way Poca-Way)’ on you is that this Tuesday is Mardi Gras.
A while back, when I dropped the Dixie Cups’ ‘Two Way Poca Way’ (no relation, or is there?? See my 3/8 post above), I mentioned that I had another interesting side in the to-be-blogged file that was both funky, and filled with Mardi Gras Indian lingo.
This is that very record, and a funky one it is.
What you’re getting is Mr. Vera leading a very tasty band (dig the guitar and keyboards) with the Mardi Gras chants. The atmosphere within the grooves is clearly aimed at a partying crowd and the dancers in the room.
The cool thing is that Billy namechecks the Wild Magnolias indian tribe the same year (1974) that the band of the same name hit (featuring members of the tribe along with a NOLA all star band with the Turbinton brothers of the Gaturs and Snooks Eaglin) with ‘Smoke My Peace Pipe’*.
How Billy Vera ended up in Memphis with Steve Cropper at the board, I do not know, nor am I familiar with the Orange label. This appears to be the only record he recorded for the label.
If any of you good folks know anything more, please drop me a line in the comments.
That said, this is a great, great record, and certainly fitting for any Mardi Gras celebration you might have planned.
I hope you dig it and I’ll be back on Friday.
Peace
Larry
*There is also a local 1970 recording/issue of ‘Smoke My Peace Pipe’ (the flipside of ‘Handa Wanda’) on the Crescent City label
If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.
Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press
PS Head over to Iron Leg for some interesting late 60s pop.
Themocracy
for this ‘Two Way Poca Way’ no relation the the Dixie Cups ?
It’s just the Dixie Cups song! The words of the chorus are the same but it’s a funk.
It’s a calypso-funk, very good. thanks
But it’s not! Stay tuned!