Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, Wayne Cochran!

Listen/Download – Wayne Cochran- Harlem Shuffle MP3

Greetings all.

What say we light us a fire under this week?

Repeated appearances of the mighty (and mightily quoiffed) Wayne Cochran here on the blog, and on the Funky16Corners Radio Show will attest to my admiration for the man and his music.

Cochran was in the first rank of white soul men in the 1960s, making some absolute killers for labels like Mercury, Chess and King, among them legendary sides like the unbeatable ‘Going Back to Miami’.

It was a while back, out digging in the field when I was lucky enough to happen upon the record you see before you today, Cochran’s version of the oft-recorded ‘Harlem Shuffle’.

Originally (and best-ly) done by Bob and Earl – it is impossible to beat that opening fanfare – ‘Harlem Shuffle’ was laid down many times over the years, vocally and instrumentally, by a string of soul and R&B performers.

Cochran waxed his take in 1965, and I’m here to tell you (though you really should pull down the ones and zeros and give it a spin yourself, because who are you going to believe, me or your own ears…) that it is among the best covers of the tune.

First off, Wayne Cochran hit everything like a sledgehammer, and he and his band plow into ‘Harlem Shuffle’ without a lick of mercy. The horns are up front, but it’s all about the bass guitar, which is the real furnace heating things up here.

Wayne himself is at his raw-voiced best, and I don’t doubt that were you to drop the needle on this the dance floor would fill up post haste.

The flip ‘Somebody Please’ is a great slice of JB/Famous Flames-influenced heat.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you all 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).

 

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

One Response to “Wayne Cochran – Harlem Shuffle”

1. WT carpenter says:

   October 11, 2015 at 10:27 am

   now I see where Donald Trump got his hairstyle from.