Ike and Tina Turner

 

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well.

The record you see before you is yet another testament to the idea that playing the long game, i.e. waiting until the time is right to strike, is essential to bagging the white whales that haunt the record collector’s soul.

Ike and Tina Turner’s version of ‘Dust My Broom’ (first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937 – though with earlier roots than that – but popularized by Elmore James in 1952) is a very popular 45 on the Northern Soul and mod scenes, and as a result the competition for copies is often fierce. While at its hottest it’s not crazy expensive (running between 60 and 100 dollars), copies get snapped up quickly.

So, I held off for a long time, hoping that I’d find myself a copy in the “real world” (y’know, outside in the sun, where record hounds fear to tread), but this strategy bore no fruit.

Then, one day it pops up on Ebay, looking a little rough, graded a little low, but I knew (and trusted) the seller, so I put in my bid, sat back and waited to be outbid yet again.

Imagine my surprise when the auction ended – with yours truly as the winner – leaving me with what the kids (I don’t know what kids, but humor me…) call an eight-dollar-hollar*!

Eight lowly, wrinkled smackeroos. Ain’t that a bitch?

Ike and Tina’s 1966 version of ‘Dust My Broom’ dispenses with the age-old tempo/structure (just imagine that famous Elmore James guitar vamp) rebuilding the tune on an aggressive 4/4 frame, with Tina and the Ikettes trading lines while the band (including, believe it or not, what sounds like an electric harpsichord!) charging hard behind them.

It’s not hard to understand how this became such a popular dance floor record, even if it met with almost complete
commercial indifference when it was released.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

 

 

 * I mean, the label’s a bit rough, but I don’t play the labels, if you know what I mean…

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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.