Righteous Brothers – Harlem Shuffle
Medley and Hatfield hail a cab!
Listen/Download – Righteous Brothers – Harlem Shuffle
Greetings all.
How’s by you? Groovy, I hope.
This post sees the beginning of a very busy month for me and my record box, with another appearance at Spindletop @ Botanica Monday night 4/11, which I suspect will be a gritty, mostly 60s funk bag. Things get rolling at 10PM, so drop by if you’re in the neighborhood.
This will be followed on Saturday 4/16 by my first appearance at the storied Subway Soul Club. I’ll be digging deeply into my Northern crates for this one, and I have a whole stack of recent acquisitions as well as many storming old faves that I assure you – if you are in a terpsichorean mode – will get you out of your seats and onto the floor. Since I’ll be spinning alongside Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus and Connie T Empress I can say without hesitation that you will be in for a night of the finest dance floor soul available on 45RPM discs. You do not want to miss it.
Assuming I survive the week, the Funky16Corners fam will be hitting the road for a little rest and relaxation, which will be capped off by two nights in northwestern Massachusetts, with stops on Friday 4/22 in Greenfield (Sweet Exorcist @ The People’s Pint) and Saturday 4/23 in Northampton (Wooly Bully @ The Basement) . I’ll post more details as the week moves on.
The tune I bring you today comes to you courtesy of my own curiosity.
While I would say that it’s safe to assume that my record jones is by and large a 45 thing, one of my favorite things to do is grab albums and plumb their depths to see what might be hidden in the grooves. Sometime last year I was out (I can’t remember exactly where) and I happened upon the Righteous Brothers 1967 LP ‘Sayin’ Somethin’.
I would not describe myself as a big fan of the duo, at least not of their biggest hits (some of which hail from the Wall of Sound). I would say that I dig both Bill Medley’s thundering baritone, and to a lesser extent Bobby Hatfield’s soaring tenor (occasionally falsetto).
When I found the LP in question, and noticed that it contained a variety of interesting cover songs, I tossed it in the ‘keeper’ stack and took it home.
When I got back to the crib and dropped the needle a few times, the track that really hit me was (not coincidentally) today’s selection, the Brothers’ cover of Bob and Earl’s classic ‘Harlem Shuffle’.
What grabbed me was the fact that Medley and Hatfield crank down the tempo a few steps, giving the song a menacing, vaguely sexy feel.
The arrangement, by Bill Baker makes excellent use of the brass section (the trombones are tearing it up), and I dig the throbbing bass guitar in the background.
While I don’t see many people getting up and dancing to this one, it really is a groovy twist on a classic, and it sounds great on the old headphones.
I hope you dig it, and that I’ll see some of you good folks down at Botanica.
Peace
Larry
Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.
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Themocracy
Great cover – I really like the Righteous Brothers, pre wall of sound.
I’m afraid I’m with Jack Black (this time)- their version of Little Latin Lupe Lu is far better than Mitch Ryder’s
I would agree with you on that score!
[…] In a weird coincidence, my man Larry over at Funky 16 Corners has posted another version of “Harlem Shuffle” here. […]
I’m suprised, but this is actually very, very cool!
Nice digging Larry.
Thanks Stu!