The Daley Diggers – I Can Dig It
MFSB, almost definitely including everyone on this record.
Listen/Download – Daley Diggers – I Can Dig It
Greetings all.
I hope the end of the week finds you all well.
I’m tired, bit what else is new? A long week of the normal family commitments, combined with a shitstack of interwebs labor (the blog switch-over and such) and a night in the city spinning records for the folks, I am just about ready to hibernate (if only I could…).
Speaking of the night at Forbidden City, it was a gas, with visits from some very groovy people (big ups to Per, Simon and Colin) and to my own increasing (however incremental) tech savvy, which allowed me to record the live set, which I’ll be posting on Monday. I was going to drop the solid hour of Hammond organ burners today, but errands (and, shamefully, slumber) did not allow enough time to do the write up, so Monday it is.
In bloggy news, I shut down the Podcast and Guest Mic archives over at the old blog, redirecting folks to this site. You can still get all the old content, you just have to come here to get it.
I’ve been a record collector for a long, long time. Over the years, I drift in and out of periodic fascinations with certain artists, genres and labels, and while I’m not really a completist, every once in a blue moon I find myself wandering down a blind alley. Instead of turning around and backing away into the mainstream – which would be the logical thing to do – I find myself compelled to explore further.
One such case is with the Philadelphia label Marmaduke Records.
One of the very first funk 45s I ever dug up was a copy of ‘Bo Did It’ by the Hidden Cost, which – I must admit – I mistook for a garage/psyche record (this was the mid-80s). The song title, in combination with the crazy record label – a cartoon Indian chief holding an artist’s palette, with an electrical cord reaching an outlet with the slogan ‘We Turn You On’ – suggested to me that I might have my hands on something interesting, which I did (just not what I thought).
I always thought it was a cool record, and years later, when I started concentrating on funk 45s, with a concentration in the sounds of Philadelphia, I discovered that Marmaduke Records was in fact the brainchild of Bernie Binnick, and Philly hitmaker Len Barry. Not only did they put out obscure funk 45s by the Hidden Cost, Norma and the Heartaches, the Impacts, Power Play* and others, but also created/produced the Electric Indian. Though the Electric Indian LP was released on United Artists, the initial 45 release of their breakbeat classic ‘Broad Street’ was released on Marmaduke.
What all of these records had in common – including today’s selection ‘I Can Dig It’ by ‘The Daley Diggers’ – was that the musicians involved were almost always pulled from the same pool that recorded on scores of Philadelphia records, and eventually became the core of the Philadelphia International Records house band, aka MFSB. Featuring Bobby Eli, Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, Earl Young and Vince Montana (among others), this revolving musical cast of characters provided the backing for some of the finest soul and funk records of the 60s and 70s.
They also recorded – pseudonymously – a bunch of cool 45s, one of which was today’s selection. While the A-side was a vocalist named Larry Daley performing ‘For the Good Times’, the flip was the funky instrumental ‘I Can Dig It’, which lined up against any number of tracks in Funky16Corners Radio v.58 – Right On! Philly Funk 45 Instrumentals, is clearly the work of the same band.
‘I Can Dig It’ has a solid, mid-tempo groove, featuring Vince Montana’s vibes prominently and some in the pocket drums by Earl Young. I actually had a copy of this record for many years, that was the very definition of a record collectors “place holder”, i.e. it was all but unplayable, but kept the rest of my Marmaduke 45s company in my Philly crate. It was only recently that I managed to score a clean copy at a bargain price, and here it is today.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday with that new mix.
Peace
Larry
*If anyone has a copy of the Race Street Chinatown Band 45, let me know…
Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press
PS Head over to Iron Leg for a new psychedelic mix.
PSS Check out Paperback Rider too.
Themocracy
I can dig it. I’m Lovin this song right now.
Larry…
Good beat; has, however, the sound of one of those “…minus-one” recordings, like I’m waiting for the vocal to begin; any chance of that?
Pop
As far as I know there’s no ‘vocal’ version of this one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the original intention was to include one, since this is what they like to call a ‘throwaway b-side’, i.e. something slapped on to fill empty space.
L
Nice new look, Larry
Hey, Larry!
Happy New Year first of all. I’ve been MIA for a number of reasons, but I will definitely be thinking of the future of Fufu Stew, now that I got word from whiteray (Echoes in the Wind) and yourself…
I’ll email you soon once I get back into the swing of this terms studies…
Good luck with the new digs 🙂
Peace and blessings.
Just scored a copy of race street Chinatown band on uranus label. Not sure if this is an OG copy or a repress. I’m looking for some more info… Great song.
That’s interesting. I always thought it came out on Marmaduke, and I hadn’t heard of a reissue. Can you send a pic of the label?
What’s your email and I’ll send you a scan of the label