Miss Delores Hall

Listen/Download – Delores Hall – Good Lovin’ Man MP3

Listen/Download – Delores Hall – W-O-M-A-N MP3

Greetings all.

One of the great pleasures of doing a blog like this is discovering that names on obscure 45s have entire careers attached to them that I knew nothing about.

Today’s artist, Delores Hall is a great example thereof.

I’ve had the 45 you see before you today for a while (if memory serves I first heard it on Kris Holmes’ radio show) and I knew of (but do not yet own) her duet 45 with Jackie Lee.

That said, her presence on the Keymen and Mirwood labels suggested to me that she was an LA-based singer, but I had no idea.

As it turns out, Hall was not only a recording artist (she went on to make albums for RCA and Capitol in the 70s) but was primarily a musical comedy performer, working in the original LA cast of HAIR, and acting on stage and in TV and movies, including a long run on the show ‘Diagnosis Murder’ in the 90s.

Her 1968 Keymen 45 is one of those great, sort of crossover (not in the collector sense of the word) discs, with a Northern-flavored number on one side and something funkier on the flip.

‘Good Lovin’ Man’, written and produced by LA giant Fred Smith is an upbeat dancer with a great four-on-the-floor beat and nice vibes and guitar accents (right out of the Mirwood playbook) through the song. Hall has a powerful voice that soars into the rafters at points.

The breakdown at 1:27 sounds like an outtake from an Aretha Franklin session.

The flip, ‘W-O-M-A-N’, written by Smith and Jackie Lee and produced by Lee, is a funkier affair, with a slower beat, a more gospel-inflected vocal by Hall and more of a southern soul sound to it.

It’s a very cool 45, and last I checked, not terribly hard to find or expensive, either.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.