Dr Feelgood & the Interns – Mr Moonlight
Dr Feelgood & the Interns – Piano Red/Dr Feelgood (left), Roy Lee Johnson (3rd from right)
Listen/Download – Dr Feelgood & the Interns – Mr Moonlight
Greetings all.
Welcome back to the Funky16Corners blog.
I have to start by thanking those of you who contributed to the 2010 Pledge Drive.
While this wasn’t the best year, you’d have to be locked in a subterranean bunker somewhere to know that it REALLY hasn’t been a good year for a lot of people. That fact makes it all the more significant that some of you felt strongly enough about Funky16Corners to dig deep and send something our way.
I’ve never taken advertising on the blog (though it has been considered) for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost, I don’t like the way it looks, and second, I don’t like the way it would change the feel of Funky16Corners.
In some ways – especially thanks to the response I’ve gotten over the years at fund-raising time – Funky16Corners has always been a collaborative effort. Those of you that stop by to partake in the discussion – often furthering it with new information and other leads – and those of you (more often than not some of the same people) who chip in during the pledge drive, are what keep the blog (and the blogger) going.
Despite the fact that blogging can often devolve into solipsism, I prefer it when it breaks through to a level where it really is a shared effort, not just with the music itself, but with the feeling of the music and the history behind it.
While I’m sure there are a lot of people who just stop by to click the links and collect the MP3s, there are a lot of folks, readers, collectors, fellow DJs and musicians who take the time to join in the conversation and make the blog something greater than the sum of its parts.
I’d like to take the time to thank all of you, because without you it wouldn’t really be worth the effort.
So, THANK YOU, VERY MUCH!
Consider this yet another new beginning, recharged for another year in the blog-o-mos-phere.
If you look up at the header, you’ll notice a couple of changes.
First, as promised the Funky16Corners Soul Club is up and running, with all the mixes that were up last week (and if you haven’t checked them all out, take the time to do so because they’re all excellent).
Second, following a number of requests, I’ve mixed down and archived the last several editions of the Funky16Corners Radio Show that I do for Viva internet radio. The shows date back to the end of April when I started doing the live mixes and the show moved to its Friday 9PM (EST) time slot. There are no playlists (I back announce every song) but there are short descriptions about what you can expect in each episode.
If you haven’t yet checked out the radio show, take the time to pull down a couple of episodes and check it out. I think you’ll like it.
Also, make sure you stop by Fleamarket Funk over the next few weeks. The Asbury Park 45 Sessions crew managed to record all the sets from the 5/28 session, and DJ Prestige will be posting them up over the coming weeks.
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The tune I bring you today is an old fave that I only got my hands on (in 45 form) last year.
Something you might have picked up on over the years is that I am a regular hound when it comes to the original versions of songs covered and made famous during the 60s by (mainly) white singers, mostly associated with the British Invasion. This is mainly due to the fact that I came to much of the soul music I love via these covers when I was but a lad.
Today’s selection, ‘Mr Moonlight’ by Dr Feelgood and the Interns was covered by the biggest of them all, namely the Beatles (on the US LP “Beatles 65′).
Though my youthful Beatle-mania introduced me to the Fabs version when I was about 13, it wasn’t until decades later that I heard the OG. When I did I was blown away, especially when I began to dig a little.
As it turns out, ‘Mr Moonlight’ was penned (and sung) by Mr. Roy Lee Johnson, the performer of one of my all time fave 45s, 1966s ‘Boogaloo #3’. That, and the fact that ‘Dr Feelgood’ was a pseudonym for blues legend Piano Red (aka William Lee Perryman) who was 51 when this record was recorded. Perryman, who was playing and recording with Blind Willie McTell in the mid-1930s, spent years as both a musician and under the Dr Feelgood name, as a DJ in the Atlanta area.
It is in fact Perryman singing on the 45s A-side ‘Dr Feelgood’ which was a minor R&B hit.
It was the B-side, ‘Mr Moonlight’ which would – a few years later – put more than a few dollars in the pockets of Roy Lee Johnson.
One of those records that presents a perfect bridge between the harmony records of the 1950s and the soul of the 60s, ‘Mr Moonlight’ has a melody worthy of a Tin Pan Alley standard, and Johnson’s vocal is nothing less than epic.
This is one of those songs that I can’t help wailing along with when I play it in the car (or anywhere else I think I won’t get caught).
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something cool.
Peace
Larry
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Cover Songs, Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners Radio, Funky16Corners Soul Club, Funky16Corners@Viva Internet Radio, R&B, Radio Show, Soul, Soul 45
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Funky16Corners, Funky16Corners Radio, Soul
Themocracy
Perfect. Just perfect. Macca and Co. never really did it justice.
That looks like Piano Red on the far left…?
Obviously I need to keep reading before I post my “Hey, that looks like Piano Red” thoughts… /head/desk
Larry,
It’s great to hear that your drive was a success. I like all the recent additions you’ve made to the blog. I’ve been making an effort to update my music blogroll/directory (Digital Meltd0wn Music Blogroll – https://music-bloggers.blogspot.com) so that my blogroll doesn’t become obsolete. I’ve been going through the list and updating all the urls, and just made it to yours. I was hoping that you would be kind enough to help me out in return by linking back to the blogroll. As always, thank you for all the amazing music that you share with us continuously. Take care.
I just added you