Joe South RIP b/w Earl Grant – Walk a Mile In My Shoes
Earl Grant
The wrong side of the LP, natch…
Listen/Download Earl Grant – Walk a Mile In My Shoes
UPDATE: Well, I just had my mind blown a little bit. I was over reading Red Kelly’s tribute to Joe South at the B Side, and gave the tune he posted – ‘Shelter’ – a spin. As soon as it started playing I realized that I was hearing one of my favorite Tams records, and had no idea that it had been written (and also recorded by) Joe South!
Greetings all
This is an unplanned post, but considering that I forgot to plug the Funky16Corners Radio Show (this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, also available as a download via iTunes or the Funky16Corners blog the day after broadcast) I thought it probably wouldn’t hurt.
The occasion – sad as it is – was new coming down the pike of the passing of the mighty Joe South, who slipped off this mortal coil at the age of 72.
I suspect that many people only know South via his own hits, ‘Games People Play’ (1969, not the Spinners song) and ‘Walk a Mile In My Shoes’ (1970, credited to Joe South and the Believers).
The whole story is a lot deeper than that.
South was first and foremost an accomplished songwriter (he wrote the Tams first hit ‘Untie Me’ in 1962), crafting songs like ‘Hush’, ‘Down In the Boondocks’ and ‘I Knew You When’ (all for Billy Joe Royal) and ‘I Never Promised You a Rose Garden’ (a massive crossover hit for Lynn Anderson in 1971).
He was also a performer, recording many excellent albums under his own name, as well as working behind the scenes as a guitarist (that’s his swampy lick at the opening to Aretha’s ‘Chain of Fools’) and producer.
South was a very interesting guy, weaving all of the various threads of Southern music including rock, soul, country and gospel (and even a little psychedelia) into a unique sound.
The tune I bring you today is an unusual (mainly because of the source) cover of ‘Walk a Mile In My Shoes’ by Earl Grant.
Grant was a vocalist and keyboardist (mainly organ) who had a number of hits – mainly aimed at the middle of the road – during the 50s and 60s. His tune ‘House of Bamboo’ is an exotica fave.
A few years back I was out digging and happened upon Grant’s self-title 1970 LP, and grabbed it because it included a couple of interesting cover versions, one of which you see before you today.
Sadly, the LP was the last thing Grant ever did. A few days after he completed the sessions he was killed at the age of 39 in a car crash.
He takes South’s ‘Walk a Mile In My Shoes’ at a slightly faster pace than the original, and does a pretty nice job, working it out on the piano as well as singing.
The rest of the album is a mix of contemporary cover material and even a few reggae-influenced instrumentals.
I hope you dig the tune and I’ll be back on Monday.
Keep the faith
Larry
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Themocracy
Gostaria de poder obter o link deste album, será que é possivel?agradeço pela atenção aguardo a resposta.obrigado