Cecil Davis ‘El Pajarito’ con su Super Orquesta – Let’s Have a Ball
Artists conception of El Pajarito
Listen/Download – Cecil Davis ‘El Pajarito’ con su Super Orquesta – Let’s Have a Ball
Greetings all.
The end of the week is here and I don’t know about you kids but I am currently being overtaken by the need to cut loose.
This has been an exceptionally long and tiring week and I – for one – have had just about enough.
I can’t say for sure, but I may very well open and consume a beer (or two) this weekend.
Look out world.
That said, part of the busy-ness has been preparations for this years Funky16Corners Pledge Drive.
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, once a year, right around the beginning of June, I make like Oliver Twist and come before you with hands outstretched so that your generous donations might help to pay for server space and related costs for the year.
This time out I’m planning on repeating last years ‘Allnighter’ concept, with a selection of hot mixes from yours truly and a variety of some of the finest selectors I know. I already have some of these cooling on the server, and others are on their way.
I can assure you that it will be a good time, so stay tuned. If things go as planned and all the required materials show up things will get rolling on June 5th.
In other news, this week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show is upon us and will be gracing the airwaves of the interwebs this (and every) Friday night at 9PM over at Viva Radio, with the MP3 version of the show being posted the following day.
It’s a hot one this week, so don’t miss it.
I should also mention that I am – thanks to a generous (and early) Father’s Day gift – now the owner of a PA system, rendering the Funky16Corners Sound System 100% mobile, so if you’re having a shindig (wedding, stein hoist, bacchanal, etc) and wish to hire someone for the expert spinning of the best in vintage funk and soul, drop me a line, because, to paraphrase Richard Berry, ‘Have Records, Will Travel’.
That said, now on to the aforementioned cutting loose.
It was a few years back that the mighty Soulmarcosa mentioned a record on a message board we both frequent that sounded quite interesting.
The tune in question ‘Let’s Have a Ball’ by Cecil Davis ‘El Pajarito’ con su Super Orquesta was available on eBay, in quantity at a very low price. Having complete faith in his taste, I grabbed myself a copy of the record (unheard).
When it fell through the mail slot my suspicions were confirmed, and it was indeed a serious gas.
Time and experience have proven that you cannot always take a record label at its word, with many things labeled ‘funky’ that are not, and so on through all genres.
‘Let’s Have a Ball’ – labeled a ‘boogaloo’ – is that rare record that meets, and exceeds all claims on the label.
It is a certified party starter, filled with latin soul goodness, made all the better by an exceedingly enthusiastic performance by Mr Davis, who comes across like someone threw Christopher Walken’s ‘The Continental’, Mr Mambo, and Fred Armisen’s El Fericito (‘Ay Dios Mio!’) into a blender with a gallon of Puerto Rican rum and a box of firecrackers.
The band cooks on this one, but it’s ‘El Pajarito’ who really makes it, trading lines with a chorus of ladies, pumping out a series of sampleable lines like ‘Sock It To Me Baby!’,‘Shall we do the boogaloo?’ and ‘Tighten up baby! Shall we have the balllllll????’ but the best part is where the background singers break into a sideline cheer, including what sounds like a heavily accented ‘sis boom bah!’.
Crazy stuff.
Even crazier is how obscure a record this hot still is.
As far as I can tell, the Dial that this record was released on bears no relation whatsoever to the jazz and soul label of the same name, and Mr Davis has proven to be all but un-Googleable. There was apparently an R&B singer by that name in the Midwest, but the vocal on this one suggests to me that he is not the same cat, since ‘our’ Cecil has a very thick accent (though that could be a put-on).
Other than that, just about all that shows up on-line is listings for people selling the 45, and there aren’t even many of those (it’s price has gone up quite a bit).
I have inquired of those who are deeper in the boogaloo game than myself, and haven’t come up with anything there either.
All I can say for certain about Cecil Davis ‘El Pajarito’ and his Super Orquesta, is that they created one hell of a great record.
I hope you dig it as much as I do, and I’ll see you on Monday.
Peace
Larry
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Boogaloo, Funky16Corners, Soul
Themocracy
This is a good enough song to download, now if I only could dance. I love Joe Carioca also!
OMG…Thank u so much for writing this about my Grandfather. His personality on this record is exactly what he was like in real life…fun-loving 🙂
Can you give me any information on your grandfather, i.e. where he was from, where he recorded and when? I wasn’t able to discover anything about him.