James Carr – A Losing Game
Mr James Carr
Listen/Download – James Carr – A Losing Game
Greetings all.
How’s by you?
Me, I’m groovy.
Got some cool records waiting to be digimatized, still breathing, you know the drill.
I will remind you that this Friday marks the weekly appearance of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio (Fridays at 9PM). This week is a Hammond funk-tacular of sorts with an hour of the finest, funkiest, organ-iest 45s from my crates placed side by side in such a way as to get folks to dance (or at least listen more closely). It’s a good one and you won’t want to miss it.
Then, next Monday 5/23 I’ll be back at Spindletop @ Botanica (47 E. Houston St, NYC) with a box full of garage and mod 45s, which should naturally be very groovy and something you won’t want to miss if that’s a bag that you find yourself in.
The tune I bring you today is another great 45 from the catalog of the legendary James Carr (we’ve featured several in this space over the years).
The very cool thing about ‘A Losing Game’ is that unlike Carr’s best known tunes, many of which are classics of the Southern soul ballad, ‘A Losing Game’ is a hard-hitting, some might say storming dancer with a killer vocal by the masterful singer.
If you’re not familiar with James Carr (and I know I say this all the time, but I assume nothing), get out onto the interwebs, or grab yourself a copy of Peter Guralnick’s classic tome ‘Sweet Soul Music’ and get hip. Carr was, to keep things short and sweet, one of the finest soul singers of the 60s, with all-time greats like ‘Dark End of the Street’ (many would say his is the definitive version) in his discography. He recorded much amazing music for the storied Goldwax label between 1964 and 1969, and then trailed off almost completely during the 70s thanks in large part to a life-long struggle with mental illness.
He did manage to make a return to recording before his untimely death (at age 58) from cancer in 2001.
While the temptation – since he was the equal (or superior) of many more famous singers – is to try to say something profound about James Carr, the sensible thing is to let his music make that statement.
‘A Losing Game’ is one of the toughest numbers Carr ever recorded. It was written by the singer and someone named Denny Weaver. I can’t find any info on Weaver (much the same as when I tried to track down the ‘B. Husky’ who wrote Carr’s ‘Talk Talk’) , which makes me wonder if the name was a pseudonym for someone else.
Either way, ‘A Losing Game’, which was later covered by both a post-Gram version of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Fairport Convention vocalist Sandy Denny (her version is outstanding), is a great soul record.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all on Monday.
Peace
Larry
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Themocracy
Definitely a kicker. Thank you.
Dark End of the Street is w/o a doubt the definitive version much like the Dells with Stay in My Corner.
Never read the back story re:mental illness. Sad as ever.
Carr was great.
there are a lot of good versions, including the writer’s (dan penn), but as he says on a live thing w/spooner oldham referring to carr’s an “defnintive” debate: “like there’s any other.”
Country rocker Gary Stewart did an excellent version, a la burritos . . . what IF the greatest soul ballad and country ballad were the SAME song? ballads, for the most part, is where country and soul meet.
d.