Magic Sam – I’ll Pay You Back
Magic Sam
Listen/Download -Magic Sam – I’ll Pay You Back
Greetings all.
Welcome to the end of yet another week at the Les Corners Seize Funkee.
It behooves me to remind you that were you to tune into Viva Radio Friday night at 9PM you would encounter (once again) the Funky16Corners Radio Show, where yours truly whips the funk, soul, jazz and rare groove on the masses via the airwaves of the interwebs. If this is an appointment you are unable to make at the time of broadcast, you can always come by here over the weekend and pick yourselves up an MP3 of same.
This week’s show is especially interesting if you dig the “now” sounds of soul and funk with new stuff from Japan, the good ole US of A, and Australia.
That all said, the tune I bring you today is something out of the blues guys go funky bag.
What’s particularly interesting is that the blues guy in question is the mighty Magic Sam and the funky tune in question is yet another iteration of the thousand-petaled lotus known as ‘It’s Your Thing’.
Magic Sam Maghett was a generation younger than many of the bluesmen that made the trek from Mississippi to Chicago, and his approach to the blues guitar was a new(er) one.
One need only listen to his recordings for labels like Cobra and Delmark to realize that he was on to something new.
Unfortunately, he was felled by a heart attack in 1969 (not long after he recorded this 45) and never really got to build the kind of discography that might have elevated him into a position of prominence.
The tune in question, ‘I’ll Pay You Back’ is something I knew only as an instrumental (‘Sams Funck’) for years until I scored a copy of the 45 and had the opportunity to flip it over.
When I did I was pleasantly surprised not only because of its basic coolness, but also because I finally realized that ‘I’ll Pay You Back’ was in fact a vehicle rebuilt on the Isley Brothers’ ‘It’s Your Thing’ frame.
Along with Archie Bell and the Drells ‘Tighten Up’, ‘It’s Your Thing’ was one of the most imitated and borrowed from songs of the late 60s. It was on the R&B charts for 14 weeks in the Spring of 1969 (4 weeks at Number One).
Magic Sam reprises the song’s title and rhythmic structure, but lays his own guitar style on top of things, and the lo-fi production by Bobby Rush (a master of the soulful blues himself, who is also credited with the writing the song) gives the whole affair a rougher edge, less funky than muddy.
We can only wonder how far Magic Sam might have gone had he not met such a premature end.
I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll I’ll see you all on Monday.
Peace
Larry
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Blues, Chicago Soul, Cover Songs, Funk, Funk 45, Funky16Corners, Soul, Soul 45
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Chicago Soul, Funk, Funky16Corners, Soul
Themocracy
I think that’s unfair to say that Magic Sam didn’t have a discography that elevated him to a position of prominence. Honestly West Side Soul alone gives him legend status and that’s without the unbelievable Cobra singles and the live stuff that later emerged. He was one of the first Chicago blues players to start incorporating more R&B in to his playing in singing and he had huge ears listening to everything from Muddy and Wolf to Jimmy McCracklin, Junior Parker, Bobby Bland, Albert Collins and adding all of them to his own style. I definitely Magic Sam was one of the big 4 originators of the West Side Sound (the others are Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and Freddie King) which went on to influence a whole generation of musicians. Not to mention the fact that, before he died, he was about to sign to Stax.
On another note, I’m a huge fan of your blog and read it religiously! I’m spinning the Impressions show at Southpaw next week so come and say hello if you’re gonna make it out.
-Eli
Thank you, Larry!
Marvelous tune!!! Thanks for the listen.
Eli
I didn’t mean to suggest that Magic Sam wasn’t among the top rank of his generation of players. The first time I heard his Cobra sides (maybe 15 years ago on the Cobra box set) they were a revelation.
I just think that his early death and the relative brevity of his discography has rendered him a fave of people in the know but way behind the recognition of someone like Buddy Guy.
I agree that he was an important transitional figure, comparable to guys like Albert Collins who, though widely considered a “blues” player, never let himself be limited, crossing stylistic boundaries at every turn.
I’ve always found the souful blues guys to be very interesting because they seemed to be reflecting a really underappreciated (especially by white audiences) thread in black music of the period. That’s one of the reasons I find Bobby Rush’s involvement so important here.
That Sam was en route to a contract with Stax suggests to me that he would have evolved/unfolded even further as time moved on.
Also, thanks for the kind words about the blog.
I’m a fan of your stuff too.
Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to spin together (and talk further) some day.
Larry
Hey Larry, I totally agree with you on Soul-Blues guys being under-appreciated. Some of my favorite records are by blues singers turning funky. The Magic Sam album “Give Me Time” where he’s just playing solo with guitar was hugely influential on me. I’ve always sought out Bobby Rush’s 60s/70s 45s as I feel like they’re the epitome of bluesy, downhome funk. Hope to meet up soon!
Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed?
The same!
Magic Sam, what can i say? Possibly my all time favorite bluesman. The guy was incredible, the voice, the guitar technique, just ridiculous. If people haven’t already checked out the live footage of him in Germany in the 60s, they need to do themsleves a favor & watch it on youtube or buy the DVD. Sam’s Delmark LPs play as a kind of “best of” for that whole West Side sound, so tight & soulful. Everyone should own a grip of the Cobra 45s & the first 2 Delmark LPs. Essential stuff. By the way, the Bright Star 45 also got a national release on Minit.
Kris
Thanks for the info. I had no idea about the Minit issue!
Larry