Washington Smith aka Nat Wright

 

Listen/Download – Washington Smith – Fat Cat

Listen/Download – Washington Smith – Don’t Take Your Love Away From Me

 

Greetings all.

The end of an exceptionally long (in spite of the holiday) week is finally at hand, and in commemoration I bring you something exceptionally groovy.

But first (always with the “but first”…) I should remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show, your source for all things soul and funk, will once again be taking to the airwaves this Friday night at 9PM over at Viva Radio. As always, I promise you an hour of the best groovy gravy pulled from the catacombs of the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault, so fall by and glue your ears to the interwebs, or stop here at the blog over the weekend to pick up the MP3 version of the show.

A little while back, Oscar winning songwriter Joe Brooks took his own life in the midst of a very dark scandal.
Known mainly for writing the 70s uber-schmaltz of ‘You Light Up My Life’, Brooks also had a little known and incredibly cool chapter in his past.

As covered here back in 2008, Brooks was the man behind one of the great breakbeat funk 45s of all time, ‘Yo Yo’ by Richard’s People.

Thanks in large part to the mighty Matt ‘Mr Finewine’ Weingarden, who provided some crucial information I was able to get to the bottom (or as close as possible) of the story.

When Brooks passed, Finewine made a Facebook post about it, first including a clip of ‘Yo Yo’, then a record I had never heard before, by a singer I’d never heard of named Washington Smith.

As soon as I hit the play button I was blown away, and even more so when I realized that the song in question ‘Fat Cat’ was another Brooks composition, and in this case (co) production.

What it also was/is, is as smoking a slice of Mod soul as you’re ever likely to hear.

Opening with a vaguely Beatle-y bass/guitar riff, the tune zips from zero to sixty in no time at all, with Smith (wait, there’s more on old ‘Washington’) blazing in with a Jackie Wilson-esque vocal, backed by a girl chorus and a pounding piano.

Things get kicked up to another level when a wild harmonica solo comes in. Though not always a welcome addition to a soul record, the harp gives ‘Fat Cat’ a hot R&B edge that makes for absolute, soulful perfection.

Interestingly, ‘Washington Smith’ appears to have been a nom de wax for a cat named Nat Wright, who also recorded under the pseudonym ‘Nat Love’. As Wright he recorded jazz, soul and R&B vocals, as Washington Smith and Nat Love soul and R&B, and then later on in his life, jazz again as Tony Moore. Wright also performed on Broadway in the 1950s.

There are clips on YouTube of some of his other efforts (soul and jazz)  as Nat Wright.

The flip side of this 45 (which was originally issued on the Rainbow label, then picked up for national distribution by Okeh in 1967) is an excellent, Walter Jackson-esque ballad called ‘Don’t Take Your Love Away From Me’ (also written by Brooks) which had a great deal of potential in its own right.

That said, ‘Fat Cat’ is a gasser of the first order and will be traveling with me (in yon record box) the next time I spin the 45s.

I hope you dig it as much as I do, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

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.

 

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 too.

 

6 Responses to “Washington Smith – Fat Cat (plus 1)”

1. Jeff says:

   July 7, 2011 at 9:43 am

   Just curious. The A side of this 45 for radio stations appears to have a giant A on it, as if visually saying “this is the A side.” Is that also on the flip side, or is there something else?

2. Larry says:

   July 7, 2011 at 9:54 am

   Nope. A-side only. The flip side is similar looking with the giant red “A” omitted. I’ve seen similar markings on Epic 45s and a few other labels too.

3. Jeff says:

   July 7, 2011 at 10:05 am

   Cool, thanks. Another instance of music nerd and design nerd colliding, much like the typography on the back of Atlantic LPs.

4. Holly says:

   July 7, 2011 at 4:12 pm

   Really excellent post, thank you.

5. Tom G says:

   July 9, 2011 at 8:32 pm

   You done it again Larry. That sucker swings!

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