John…

and Antoine…

Listen/Download – Fats Domino – Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey

 

Greetings all.

This is a previously unplanned post, but that’s just the way we roll here, since one must allow themselves to be guided by inspirado, or something like that.

This weekend marks what would have been the 70th birthday of John Lennon.

I have gone into my deep and abiding love for the Beatles in this space before (and over at Iron Leg), but something I haven’t discussed is my growing ambivalence about Mr. Lennon.

I would not have discussed it at all were I not spurred on to introspection about this specific subject by various and sundry celebrations of the aforementioned occasion in every conceivable nook and cranny of the media, but especially the postings of my many Facebook friends, many of whom have exceptional taste in music.

The Beatles were the first music that I truly loved and connected with, and for a few years in the time when I was passing from childhood into adolescence they were pretty much all I listened to with any regularity (other than the jazz and classical music that was played by my father).

The walls of my room were plastered with clippings about the Beatles that I had collected from newspapers and magazines, as well as posters and ephemera like the inserts from the ‘Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album.

This is all said only to indicate that the Beatles – as musicians, cultural avatars and people – and the music they made meant, and mean a great deal to me.

However, over the many, many years (I turned 48 this year) I have read a great deal about them, their impact on the culture and the way they created their records, and my impressions of the four Beatles have evolved considerably for a wide variety of reasons.

Back when I was younger, obsessed with rock’n’roll and with all the signifiers of “authenticity” that go along with it when you’re young and full of a wide variety of things, from beans, to piss and vinegar, and what in retrospect – if you’re being honest – something that is clearly shit, I followed the script that said that McCartney was the sellout, Lennon the rebel, Ringo the good natured post-Fabs hitmaker and Harrison the incorruptible mystic.

This had a lot to do with my brain being young, soft and unable (or unwilling) to process anything more complex than a handful of cliches.

That said, as I aged, and read more, I came to understand that the Beatles were much more complex and human that I was willing to allow them to be when I first fell in love with them and the wondrous sounds that they made.

Unfortunately, this evolution softened my appraisal of McCartney (no mean feat) and poked a number of holes in how I saw Lennon.

I’ll let you read up on your own, but I came to the end of this long reappraisal not liking John Lennon all that much.

What I’ve come to discover over the last few weeks of thought and discussion is that this is ultimately my own problem, and should be rightfully separated from his music.

That and the fact that while he wasn’t a saint, he wasn’t a complete asshole either.

John Lennon was a human being, just like the rest of us.

A prodigiously talented (and flawed) human being, but a human being nonetheless, who was never comfortable with the idolatry of many of his fans, and at the end of the day, he was also a Beatle, and responsible for some of the finest music of the last half of the previous century.

And when I say music, I don’t mean the Beatles recordings exclusively, but also their songs as interpreted by others.

Funky16Corners, while always a kind of free-flowing deal – as far as musical style goes – has always found it’s way back to a focus on funk, soul and jazz, and it was by way of that short list that I’ve paid my own sort of tribute to the Beatles and their music over the last five years.

I did so by compiling six mixes (se below) of funk, soul and jazz Beatles covers (one’s a shorter one, but I like it anyway), all of which I’ve pulled out of the Podcast Archive to repost today.

I’ve also included a cover of ‘Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey’ that I picked up after all of these mixes were assembled.

The version here is by the mighty Fats Domino. It was recorded in 1970 (I picked it up on an old Warner/Reprise sampler) and John Lennon was reportedly pleased to have one of his songs covered by one of his own idols.

Fats does a very nice version of the song, which is groovy, and brings things full circle since he was the stylistic inspiration for ‘Lady Madonna’.

I hope you dig it, and that – have you not already partaken (partooken???) that you dig into these mixes.

The day when Lennon would have turned 70 (!?!?) is a big deal, and since we only have two Beatles left, it’s worth celebrating.

There’s lots of groovy stuff.

See you later.

Peace

Larry

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Funky16Corners Radio v.28 – Rubber Souled Pt1

Funky16Corners Radio v.28 – Rubber Souled Pt1

Playlist
Billy Preston – Eight Days a Week (Exodus)
Music Company – TheWord (Mirwood)
Bunny Sigler – Yesterday (Parkway)
Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out (Tamla)
Vontastics – Day Tripper (St Lawrence)
Chris Clark – Got To Get You Into My Life (Motown)
El Chicano – Eleanor Rigby (Kapp)
Junior Parker – Tomorrow Never Knows (Capitol)
Bill Cosby – Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (WB)
Soulful Strings – Within You Without You (Cadet)
Bud Shank – I Am the Walrus (World Pacific)
Soulful Strings – Hello Goodbye (Cadet)
Soulful Strings – The Inner Light (Cadet)

Listen/ Download 37MB Mixed MP3
Download 37MB Zip File

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Funky16Corners Radio v.29 – Rubber Souled Pt2

Playlist
Ramsey Lewis – Mother Natures Son (Cadet)
Bobby Bryant – Happiness Is a Warm Gun (Pacific Jazz)
Orchestra Harlow – Larry’s Complaint (Me & My Monkey) (Fania)
Ramsey Lewis – Back In the USSR (Cadet)
Chubby Checker – Back In the USSR (Buddah)
Groove Holmes & Ernie Watts – Come Together (Pacific Jazz)
Jazz Crusaders – Golden Slumbers (Chisa)
Gene Ammons – Something (Prestige)
Ike & Tina Turner – Get Back (UA)
Shirley Scott – Get Back (Atlantic)
Mohawks – Let It Be (Supreme)

Listen/ Download 37.5MB Mixed MP3
Download 37.5MB Zip File

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Funky16Corners Radio v.30 – Rubber Souled Pt3

Playlist
Overton Berry Trio – Hey Jude (Jaro)
Freddy McCoy – Hey Jude (Cobblestone)
Jimmy Caravan – Hey Jude (Vault)
Clarence Wheeler & the Enforcers – Hey Jude (Atlantic)
Fabulous Counts – Hey Jude (Cotillion)
Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude (Atlantic)

Listen/ Download 25MB Mixed MP3
Download 25MB Zip File

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Funky16Corners Radio v.54 – Come Together

Funky16Corners Radio v.54 – Come Together

Playlist

Funky16Corners Radio v.74 – Day Tripping

7 Responses to “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (When they turn 70…)”

1. James says:

   October 9, 2010 at 7:54 pm

   Hey Larry, great post!

   I really love those Beatles covers, so will have to re-listen to those archived shows.

   By the way, if you dig the Jazz Crusaders / Crusaders sound, I strongly recommend picking up some of their late 60’s releases for more terrific Beatles covers:

   – Lighthouse ’68 LP (‘Eleanor Rigby’)
   – Powerhouse LP (‘Hey Jude’)
   – Lighthouse ’69 LP (‘Get Back’)

   I’m sure there are more, but these are three that I can recommend of the top of my head.

   Keep up the great work Larry – I listen to your podcasts and radio shows every week, but this is the first time I’ve left a comment.

   Cheers,
   James
   x

2. Larry Grogan says:

   October 9, 2010 at 7:57 pm

   Thanks James! – Larry

3. whiteray says:

   October 9, 2010 at 8:56 pm

   Nice post, Larry. I love the Domino version of “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide . . .” Fats also did a very nice cover of “Lady Madonna” right around the same time. I’m very much looking forward to digging into these covers . . .

4. Andy says:

   October 12, 2010 at 5:44 am

   Thanks Larry – been looking for this for ages.
   Not sure if anyone’s already alerted you to the fact that your blog got a very well-deserved plug this week on the mighty Joy of Music show on BBC Radio Kent over here in the UK. You can listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00bczd4/Sean_Rowley_The_Joy_of_Music_10_10_2010/
   Hopefully this works over your side of the pond.
   Andy

   Here’s the tracklisitng for the show:

   Sean Rowley’s Joy Of Music
   —————————————
   Lonely For You Baby – Sam Dees
   My Man on Love – Judee Sill
   Winter Song – The Head And The Heart
   To The Grain – Junip
   While Men Are Dreaming – Jenny And Johnny
   All Packed Up – Idiot Glee
   The Lamb Ran Away with the Crown – Judee Sill
   Peppermint – Spectrals
   Candy – Magic Kids
   Some Place – Nick Waterhouse & the Turn-Keys
   Sunshine – The Bees
   Wash In the Rain – The Bees
   I Really Need Love – The Bees
   You Lied – Badly Drawn Boy
   RAM ON (PAUL MCCARTNEY COVER) – the morning benders
   God Only Knows (The Beach Boys Cover) – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
   Don’t Leave Me This Way (Thelma Houston cover) – The Peptides
   Harlem River Blues Reprise – Justin Townes Earle Harlem River Blues – Justin Townes Earle Love Peace and Understanding -Masqueraders Won’t Get Fooled Again – Labelle
   The Cat – Jimmy Smith
   Un Soir, Un Chien – Laetitia Sadier
   Jesus Was a Cross Maker – Judee Sill
   Blowin’ In The Wind -O.V. Wright
   Girl From The North Country -Howard Tate
   Just Like A Woman -Nina Simone
   Maggie’s Farm -Solomon Burke
   Mr Tambourine Man – Con Funk Shun
   Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You – Esther Phillips
   Lady-O -Judee Sill

5. Larry says:

   October 12, 2010 at 3:48 pm

   Andy
   Thanks for the tip! I listened to it this morning. Very cool indeed!

   Larry

6. VITAL ORGAN (AND MORE) « Record-Racks says:

   October 15, 2010 at 11:51 pm

   […] album isn’t a new concept by any stretch. Ramsey Lewis, Booker T And The MG’s, and so many others have travelled down that road. Soulive offers the latest in the line of tributes to The Fab Four. […]

7. Andy says:

   October 18, 2010 at 4:58 pm

   Hi Larry – You’re famous in Kent! Another plug for your blog on the Joy of Music on BBC Radio Kent this weekend as part of a funky Beatles session. Catch it here this week: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00bj569/Sean_Rowley_The_Joy_of_Music_17_10_2010/
   Keep up the good work. Andy

   Here’s the full track listing:
   Morning Glory – Tim Buckley
   Falling In Love Again – Robert Plant
   Teardrops Lost In the Rain – Findlay Brown
   Twilight Mushrooms – Parsley Sound
   Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You – Esther Phillips
   Read the Blessed Pages – Belle and Sebastian
   I’m a Cuckoo (The Avalanches Mix)
   – Belle and Sebastian
   The Order of Things – Badly Drawn Boy
   By The Sea – Laetitia Sadier
   Here (2010 Demo) – Vashti Bunyan
   Babylon – Mountain Man
   Oysters and Wine at 2 A.M. – Polk Miller
   No East, No West – James Apollo
   Wanderin’ (Album) – Justin Townes Earle
   I’m Beginning to Forget – Elizabeth Cook
   Tired of Loving – The Bees
   Lookin’ At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song) – The Beach Boys
   Tomorrow Never Knows – Junior Parker
   Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band – Bill Cosby
   The Word – The Music Company
   Day Tripper – Lee Moses
   Everybody’s Got Something to Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey) – Fats Domino
   The XX-Exile – Raymond and Hayes
   Nature’s Wrath – The Budos Band
   Sweet Virginia – Jerry Lee Lewis & Keith Richards
   Big City Blues – Morton Gould
   Avenue Of The Americas 51st Street – Moondog
   Magical City – Gordon Jenkins
   Tide – Junip
   Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) (2010 Remix) – John Lennon
   Lantern – Sam McLoughlin & Alison Cooper