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By Larry, August 9, 2015 10:11 am

Jimmy Bishop

Listen/Download – Teddy and the Fingerpoppers – Soul Groove Pt1 MP3

Greetings all.

What better way to start the week than some certified, Phila-ma-delphia heat?

Back in the olden days, I was hoovering up everything Philly-related that I could get my hooks into. I ended up with a lot of great music, a fair amount of dreck, and some absolutely brilliant things as well.

‘Soul Groove’ by Teddy and the Fingerpoppers falls into the last category.

The crazy thing is, I can’t tell you who they were.

As far as I can tell, this is the only 45 they ever did. My instinct is to attribute the cut to the Philly “house band” that played on so many 45s – often pseudonymously – and ended up forming the core of MFSB. However, I have no firm evidence in that direction.

That said, the track, credited to Jesse James and Jimmy Bishop got around. The original came out on Arctic in 1968.

The following year the tune (which I’m pretty sure is a rerecording) formed the basis for the Cliff Nobles & Co side ‘Gettin’ Away’ on Phil LA of Soul.

There was also – and I will forever kick myself for not writing down the info when I had it in front of me – a Jamaican 45 that lifts the backing track as well. If any of you good folks know what that particular record was, please let me know.

The Teddy and the Fingerpoppers 45 is largely instrumental (some interjections aside), with a jangling guitar setting the pace, and the bass and drums laying down hard, so hard indeed that the record has attracted the ears of some on the Northern scene.

This is one of those records that I have had in my crates for-freaking-EVER, and had to go back and check to make sure that I hadn’t already written about it.

I hope you all dig it, 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.

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By Larry, June 11, 2015 10:58 am

The Cooperettes

Listen/Download – The Cooperettes – Everything’s Wrong

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which rolls into town each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app,or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

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This coming Monday, 6/15 brings the beginning of the 2015 Funky16Corners Allnighter and Pledge Drive!
Things are getting underway a little later than usual this year, thanks to some family commitments as well as lining up some spectacular new mixes for your listening pleasure.

You’ll be digging mixes from old faves like Asbury 45 Sessions vets DJ Prestige, DJ Prime Mundo and DJ Bluewater, Tarik Thornton, DJ RP of Funkdefy, Vincent the Soul Chef, and Heavy Soul Brutha, as well as new 2015 contributors Chris Lujan (of the M-Tet and the Dirty Dirty Podcast) and Ben Gibson, all bookended by two brand new Northern Soul mixes by yours truly!

All contributors will receive the new 2015 Funky16Corners badge, as well as one (or more, as supplies last) of the groovy stickers you see above, as well as my eternal gratitude.

So get your ears ready!

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Today’s selection is yet another winner out of the Harthon galaxy of stars.

The Cooperettes discography is not long, but it is packed with winners.

Their ‘Shing-a-ling’ (also known in the unissued verion by Irma and the Fascinators as ‘You Need Love’) was one of the first big Northern 45s I tracked down back in the day, and it remains a favorite.

The group included the Cooper sisters, Janette, Debbie, Tina and Angie, and released a half dozen 45s between 1966 and 1969 for labels like Brunswick, ABC and IDB.

‘Everything’s Wrong’ was their second 45, released in early 1967 and was a minor local hit in Philadelphia.

A great, mid-tempo dancer, with a Shirelles feel to it (interesting since the tune was co-written by Wes Farrell, who penned ‘Boys’ for that group), ‘Everything’s Wrong’ is yet another one of those records that should have been a hit, but got lost in the pop tidal wave of 1967.

The Cooperettes had a second wave of popularity with the Northern Soul scene, when ‘Shing-a-ling’ was reissued in the UK in 1975.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all on Monday for the Allnighter.

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.

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By Larry, June 4, 2015 12:14 pm

Ben Aiken

Listen/Download – Ben Aiken – If I Told You Once (I Told You a Million Times)

Listen/Download – Ben Aiken – You Were Meant To Be My Baby

Greetings all.

As the end of the week is near, allow me to remind you once again about the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which takes to the airwaves of the interwebs each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can keep up with the show by subscribing to it as a podcast in iTunes, listening on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or by grabbing an MP3 here at the blog.

Also, all mixed are in-house, and the go date for this years’s Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive will be 6/15, with a new mix being posted every weekday for the next few weeks. This year you’ll get mixes from Ben Gibson (Mo’Soul), DJ Prime Mundo, DJ Prestige, Tarik Thornton, Chris Lujan, Vincent the Soul Chef, DJ Bluewater, DJ RP of Funkdefy, HeavySoulBrutha and of course, two new assemblages from my own crates!

There’s a groovy new badge for this year’s premium (and lots of stickers), so dial into the vault and get ready!

Today’s selection found its way into my crates via that old standby, brand loyalty.

I was out digging at a stoop sale, and though I had never heard of Ben Aiken before I put my hands on this 45, seeing the Loma label, and the name of the mighty Jerry Ragovoy, it moved immediately to the keeper pile, and came home with me.

Possessed of an Eddie Holman level tenor, with a sweet touch, and based in Philadelphia, Aiken recorded a string of 45s for labels like Squire, Roulette (he had his biggest success with his 1965 Roulette 45 ‘Stay Together Young Lovers’), Loma and Philly Groove between 1965 and 1972. I have also seen references that seem to indicate that he also sang with a number of other groups on Philly Groove during his time with the label.

‘If I Told You Once (I Told You a Million Times)’, written and produced by Ragovoy and arranged by Herb Bernstein was Aiken’s first 45 for Loma in 1967.

A classic Ragovoy ballad, ‘If I Told You Once…’ starts off slow and easy, but picks up a little steam with a really interesting key change in the bridge.

Aiken’s vocals are excellent, and the flip ‘You Were Meant to Be My Baby’ is a nice, upbeat dancer.

Once again, another excellent Jerry Ragovoy production is cast into the ether and inexplicably, all but ignored by the listening public.

As far as I can tell, you can only pick up Aiken’s Loma material on original 45s, or on the series of Loma reissue LPs that came out in the 70s. His later Philly Groove stuff is accessible on a Collectables CD.

I hope you dig the tracks, and I’l see you all next week.

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.

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By Larry, September 18, 2014 11:03 am

Listen/Download The Naked Truth – The Shing-a-Ling Thing

Listen/Download The Naked Truth – The Stripper

Greetings all

Don’t forget that the end of the week is nigh, so the Funky16Corners Radio Show, dropping every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio isn’t far off. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes.

The track I bring you today is a testament to the value of carrying piles of otherwise useless facts around in your head at all times.

As has been stated here many a time, I spent a lot of years chasing down as much Philly soul as my greedy little hands (and not so little ears) could grab.

One of the things I always do – with records from Philly, or any other area – is to try and get a handle on the major players in any scene, i.e. musicians, songwriters, producers and arrangers. This information will allow you – in the absence of specific discographical data – to gather up 45s you might otherwise have passed over.

While I had never heard of the Naked Truth, when I picked up the 45, aside from the title ‘The Shing-a-ling Thing’ (note to fledgling collectors of 60s soul, pick up any and all ‘shingaling’ records), I noticed several names on the label that indicated that this was a Philadelphia-based record.

The disc was arranged by Richie Rome, a Madara-White production, and co-written by none other than Leon Huff.

Needless to say (though you can already see I’m going to say it anyway…) I put this one in the keeper pile and brought it home.

As it turns out, ‘The Shing-a-ling Thing’ is a groovy, pulsing dancer that has its share of devotees on the Northern Soul dance floors ( I would not be surprised to find out that it is Mr Huff tickling the ivories on the record).

My guess is that ‘The Shing-a-ling Thing’ was a throwaway b-side, with the cover of David Rose’s ‘The Stripper’ being the selling point (thus ‘The Naked Truth’).

Why this crew thought to resuscitate ‘The Stripper’ (which had been a huge hit in 1962) as a fairly hard-hitting organ instro in 1967 is a mystery, though I suspect that it has something to do with a popular commercial for Noxzema shaving cream, that used ‘The Stripper’ as its backing music that year.

Interestingly, the Naked Truth’s version of ‘the Stripper’ charted briefly in Philadelphia in the fall of 1967.

It’s pretty cool, which is why I’m including it here.

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

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.

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, November 5, 2013 1:55 pm

The Ambassadors

Listen/Download The Ambassadors – Good Love Gone Bad

Greetings all

The middle of the week is once again upon us, and what better way to scale (and overcome) the dreaded ‘hump’ than a tasty Philadelphia Northern Soul 45?

The mighty Ambassadors have been featured many times since the days of the Funky16Corners web zine, as well as in mixes for the blog, but as far as I can tell, never featured here on the front page.

Known best for their recordings for the storied Arctic label, the group also recorded three 45s for Atlantic prior to their association with the Philly powerhouse.

These 45s are all excellent, and well worth picking up if you can find them.

The tune I bring you today, ‘Good Love Gone Bad’ was the A-side of their second Atlantic 45 in 1968.

Co-written by Philly DJ/impresario Jimmy Bishop and Kenny Gamble (sans Huff), ‘Good Love Gone Bad’ features a predictably excellent Bobby Martin arrangement, and some excellent harmonies by the Ambassadors.

The record was a minor local hit in April of 1968, but doesn’t seem to have dented the national charts at all.

If you’re not familiar with the Ambassadors, you can hear a number of their songs in Funky16Corners mixes, and their Arctic material has been reissued as Soul Summit
.

I hope you dig the tune, 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.
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.

Comments (3)

By Larry, August 29, 2013 9:22 am

Listen/Download The Ordells – Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee

Greetings all

The grand finale of the week is approaching, which means that it’s Funky16Corners Radio Show time again.

I come to you each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl.

If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab and MP3 here at the blog.

The tune I bring you this fine day is a long time favorite and a very, very deep selection.

I first grabbed my copy of the Ordells ‘Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee’ many years ago.

What brought me to it – aside from Philly soul completism – was the grooving, organ/guitar instro ‘Big Dom’ on the flip.

It wasn’t until it had been in my crates for more than a year that I finally flipped the disc over and had my mind blown.

There, hidden on the other side of the 45, was one of the most epic pieces of sweet soul I had ever heard.

Simply referring to it as sweet soul does ‘Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee’ a disservice, since it is for more than that.

Produced by Bob Finiz and arranged by Richie Rome, the tune is a stunning piece of atmospheric, otherworldly soul.

The instrumental track is layered with piano, tremolo guitar (verging on the psychedelic) and surging waves of strings, all wrapped in beautiful harmonies.

You often see the term “lost classic’ tossed about, but in this case it is entirely fitting.

‘Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee’ isn’t some wild outlier (see the Twilights ‘Shipwreck’). It is sublimely written, produced and performed, and would – in a just world – have been a huge hit.

Yet it doesn’t appear to have even charted in Philadelphia.

The Dionn label only released 13 45s (eight of which were by their biggest hitmakers Brenda and the Tabulations) and one LP (also B & the Ts) between 1966 and 1968.

The Ordells 45 was released in 1967 and as far as I can tell they never recorded another note. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that they had nothing at all to do with the instrumental, which leaves us with one, absolutely incredible performance, committed to vinyl and then largely forgotten.

I have seen several references that indicate that ‘Sippin’ a Cup of Coffee’ has similarly affected many others, and that it may have something of a lowrider following, but aside from that, it remains the property of soul collectors.

As far as I know it has never been reissued (or at least not currently), which is damn shame, since this is a record that people need to hear.

I hope you dig it, and that you have yourselves a great weekend.

See you on Monday

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.
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.