Funky16Corners Christmas: J Hines and the Boys – A Funky X-Mas To You
Greetings all.
As the posts of the next few weeks will attest, I actually made an effort this year to gather some holiday-appropriate 45s in preparation for Christmas. Previous years have seen me discussing my malfeasance in this regard, but as the years have passed, I’ve made a slow, almost imperceptible k-turn, making sure that I stuff my Christmas crate as full as possible so that the blog and the radio show are both properly stocked.
I actually enjoy Christmas-oriented soul and funk, and god knows there’s plenty of it out there for those that are willing to explore.
I actually found today’s selection out in the field, whilst digging with my son.
There were already a couple of J Hines (with the Boys and the Fellows) 45s in my crates, so when I encountered ‘A Funky X Mas To You’, I had to grab it sight unheard (as it were).
Hines was very interesting character, coming out of the Carolinas to work with Roy C up in the NY area (there’s a great piece on him at Red Kelly’s Soul Detective site), recording a handful of 45s in the late 60s and early 70s.
He actually had a minor R&B hit with the extremely funky ‘Camelot Time’ (as J Hines and the Fellows) in 1973, making it to #71).
Though I haven’t been able to find a reliable discography, it would appear that ‘A Funky X Mas To You’ was probably issued in the early 70s.
Featuring Hines’ swinging guitar, and some groovy lyrics (“A big black Santa Claus,with a funk sack on his back!”), the song also features some nice horns and organ.
I really dig it a lot, and thought it’d be a great selection to kick off our holiday selections this year.
I hope you dig it too, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday with some more.
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).
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