Billy Preston

Listen/Download Billy Preston – Billy’s Bag

Greetings all

I hope that all is well in your corner of the world and that you’re all ready to hit the ground running this week.

The mighty Billy Preston has appeared in this space a few times before, including earlier this year with his Hammond instrumental ‘Greazee Pts 1&2’.

The track Ibring you today has dropped here as part of mix, but I only managed to score a copy of the 45 a few weeks back.

When I posted a list of my finds from the Allentown all-45 show, a friend requested that I post ‘Billy’s Bag’, so here it is.

Released in 1965 on the VeeJay label, ‘Billy’s Bag’ didn’t hit the charts in the US or the UK (where it was released on Sue) but it was a seminal record on the Mod Soul scene in the UK.

‘Mod Soul’ may be – from the outside – an amorphous concept, but I wouldn’t by lying if I said it was the driving force behind my listening for a long time.

As an collective genre,it encompassed soul jazz, R&B, uptempo blues, soul (of all varieties), and especially Hammond groovers (which fall inside all of the previously mentioned subgenres).

The sound was a huge part of the Mod lifestyle, as well as going on to inform much of the finest music to come out of the UK in the mid-60s.

Thanks to my own exposure to the Mod aesthetic – of which I was mostly an observer – Mod soul had a huge influence on the way I dig music, and I enjoy nothing better that spinning records for a crowd that shares that appreciation.

Preston spent the mid-60s as part of Ray Charles’s roadshow, and the flipsides of both of his VeeJay 45s were instrumental versions of Charles tunes (Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying and Drown In My Own Tears).

Without a doubt my all-time favorite cut by Preston, ‘Billy’s Bag’ is fast enough for the dance floor and has more than enough Hammond organ heat for the organ groove fan in me. The conga/cowbell percussion breaks are especially cool.

I really dig how Preston works the piano in the background as well.

‘Billy’s Bag’ made its mark on the Northern scene as well.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

 

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

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They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.

 

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.