Junior Wells

Listen/Download Junior Wells – Girl You Lit My Fire

Greetings all

I have been hard at work preparing for the 2013 Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

Almost all of the participating DJs are present an accounted for, this year’s groovy premiums are ready to go (more on that on Friday) and we ought to be up an running for next week.

This years mixes are blazing hot, with a most of the familiar heads working it out, as well as a couple of new contributors that really bring their best stuff.

Funk, Northern Soul, Reggae, Disco, R&B, you name it, you’ll hear it. So get ready to download (and hopefully donate).

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I will assume that most of you with a passing interest in the blues will have heard the name Junior Wells before.

Over a three decade period, alone and alongside the mighty Buddy Guy (among others) Wells laid down some of the finest vocals and harp wailing to come out of the Chicago scene.

What Junior Wells also did, was cross over – frequently – into the worlds of funk and soul during the mid to late 60s.

While pretty much every blues artist made an attempt to cast a wider sonic net during these years (some more convincingly than others) few had as natural an aptitude for it as Wells did.

The records he made for the Chicago-based Bright Star and Blue Rock (a Mercury subsidiary) labels are great examples of his ability to both rev up the blues and perform convincing soul music.

The tune I bring you today, ‘Girl You Lit My Fire’ was Wells’s second single for Blue Rock in 1968.

Arranged by none other than the great Charles Stepney, ‘Girl You Lit My Fire’ – despite it’s obvious tip of the hat to a certain Doors hit (RIP Ray…) , is a hard charging, horn driven bit of funky soul (the drums are especially tight) with a powerful vocal by Wells.

The flipside (like several of his 45s from the period) leans more in the blues direction, with a cover of GL Crockett’s ‘There’s a Man Down There’ (better known in the Allman Brothers version as ‘One Way Out’).

All of Wells’s 45s from this period are worth picking up, and thankfully not terribly hard to come by.

I hope you dig the sounds, 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!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

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.