Gladys Knight and the Pips – The Nitty Gritty
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Listen/Download Gladys Knight and the Pips – The Nitty Gritty
Greetings all
Before we get things rolling I wanted to extend a hearty ‘thank you’ to all of you who made the 2013 Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive a big success this year.
The contributions – whether they be mixes to fuel the Allnighter or donations to keep this machine rolling for another year – were all greatly appreciated.
As I mentioned in last week’s post, Funky16Corners will enter its tenth year of existence in 2013, a fact which boggles my mind as much as it does any of yours.
I was having a Facebook exchange with some friends the other day, in which I stated that even at the ripe old age of 50, I am still engaged in a constant search for new (to me) music. There is still so much out there that I haven’t heard, and thanks to amazing friends that are always turning me on to new sounds, and my own relentless digging, I keep ingesting it as quickly as I can manage, and relating the search, and the appreciation to all of you, here in this space.
It is a labor of love, writ large.
So once again, I say thanks, and Keep the Faith.
Larry
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PS If you just found out about all this, you can still click here to donate to Funky16Corners!
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I don’t know about you guys, but I need a little musical kick in the pants to get me going today.
Who better to provide it than the mighty Gladys Knight?
I have always been of the opinion that despite popular opinion to the contrary, it is Gladys Knight who was the greatest female voice in the Motown stable.
Knight was possessed of a singularly powerful, flexible voice that allowed her to kick ass no matter what kind of stuff she was laying down, from sensitive ballads, powerful dance floor soul or straightahead funk.
The tune I bring you today was a big hit for Gladys and the Pips in the summer of 1969, hitting #2 on the R&B charts and making it into the Pop Top 20.
‘The Nitty Gritty’, written by Lincoln Chase and originally a hit for his wife Shirley Ellis in 1963, and was covered many times (Ricardo Ray’s boogaloo take is especially tasty) over the years.
I first heard the Gladys Knight and the Pips version years ago on an old UK Tamla greatest hits, which exposed me to a number of fantastic tracks that I had never heard before.
The group was huge on the radio when I was a kid but their earlier output, with killers like ‘JustWalk In My Shoes’ and ‘You Need Love Like I Do’ was largely new to me.
‘Nitty Gritty’ is a tour de force Norman Whitfield production, driven by some supremely funky guitar (the highest instrument in the mix), mixed percussion (the congas and tambourine in the front) and of course an explosive vocal by Gladys.
There was already a rhythmic component in the lyrics, which Gladys takes to an entirely new level, and abetted by the mighty Pips, with the “BOOM BOOM BOOM”s and what not make this a 45 to be reckoned with.
I hope you dig it as much as I do, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.
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).
Themocracy
Great comments about Gladys Knight. She has quite a few of my favorite songs. Check out “Who Is She (And What Is She To You?” from 1973 – so funky.
Keep up the good work! I always enjoy Funky16Corners.
Thanks for shining a light on the greatness of Gladys. She’s fantastic.
So THAT’S why “Lincoln” is mentioned in “The Name Game!”