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By Larry, January 24, 2016 11:51 am

The Volcanos

Listen/Download – Volcanos – (It’s Against) The Laws of Love MP3

Greetings all.

I thought we’d get things of to a fine start this week with one of my favorite Philly 45s.

Back in the day, when I had just started digging for soul in earnest, I was all over anything I could find from Philadelphia and New Orleans.

One of the early obsessions to come out of my Philly excavations was the mighty Volcanos.

I can say with some certainty that the gateway drug – as it were – was ‘Storm Warning’, the group’s biggest hit and a Northern Soul classic.

Over the course of a few years, the Volcanos, led by Gene Faith (nee Jones) would lay down some of the finest soul 45s to come out of the City of Brotherly Love, first for Arctic, then the storied Harthon imprint, and then finally for Virtue, before Faith went solo, and the rest of the group morphed into the Moods, and then the Trammps.

‘(It’s Against) The Laws of Love’ was the group’s fourth 45 for Arctic, released in 1965. Written by Carl Fisher of the Vibrations, ‘Laws of Love’ followed their regional success with ‘Storm Warning’, but despite its obvious quality, failed to make a dent outside of Philadelphia.

Seemingly crafted from a Northern Soul template (years ahead of the curve) ‘Laws of Love’ features a brisk, four on the floor beat, piano and ringing vibes (Vince Montana!) and pumping baritone sax under a great lead by Faith and solid harmonies by the group.

The song is packed with hooks and the arrangement is a wonder.

This is also one of those records I’m happy to have grabbed way back in the stone age, since it seems to be the rarest of their Arctic 45s, pulling in a couple of hundred bucks (much like their two Harthon discs).

It is the perfect intersection of great to listen to and great to dance to.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, January 21, 2016 1:29 pm

Listen/Download – The Pop-Ups – Lurking MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, so I will remind you to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show Podcast, coming to you each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today came as something of a pleasant surprise the first time I heard it.

I already knew the music, but had only previously dug it as the backing on one of my favorite 45s, ‘Golly! Zonk! It’s Scatman’ by Scatman Crothers.

That particular 45 has been a fave for years and holds a place of honor in my playbox. Not only is it a very groovy 45, but i always like to whip it on people who oly know Scatman from 70s TV shows like ‘Chico and the Man’ and ‘Hong Kong Phooey’ (for whom Crothers provided the voice).

Then, a few years back someone (I forget who, so forgive me…) turned me on to the 45 you see before you, ‘Lurking’ by the Pop-Ups.

My mind was good and blown. What you get is the basic instrumental track with Scatman removed, but the guitar and organ are bumped up in the mix, making ‘Lurking’ every bit as good for the dance floor as ‘Golly! Zonk!’ and then some.

As fars as I can tell, the Pop Ups were a studio group. One of the writers of the tune is Larry Goldberg who was in charge of the rock’n’roll side of things at the famously diverse Hanna-Barbera Records label.

The Pop Ups 45 was released before Scatman’s, so my suspicion is that he was offered the existing track and laid his vocal (which sounds improvised, anyway) on top of it.

The Pop Ups 45 is considerably harder to find than the Scatman version.

Either way, it’s a very cool track, and I hope you dig it.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, January 19, 2016 12:03 pm

Ramsey Lewis (l), Ansil Collins and Dave Barker (r)

Listen/Download – Ramsey Lewis – Party Time MP3

Greetings all.

Welcome to the middle of the week.

Nothing grooves me more than finding out the source of a sample/cover, especially when I had no idea the record in question was a cover.

Such was the case last year when someone dropped a Youtube clip of the record you see before you today, ‘Party Time’ by Ramsey Lewis.

The ‘cover’ in question is one of the great skinhead reggae 45s of all time, Dave and Ansil Collins’ ‘Double Barrell’.

There are a lot of reggae/ska tunes that borrow (a charitable assessment…) from US/UK pop, jazz and soul, but I never knew that ‘Double Barrel’ (an all-time fave, of which I own at least three different copies) was one of them.

‘Party Time’ composed for Lewis by none other than the mighty Richard Evans, and arranged and produced by him for the 1967 ‘Up Pops Ramsey’ LP, is a groovy number with some punchy drums and upright bass setting the foundation for Lewis’s piano soloing.

The arrangement by Evans is first-rate, up there with the best of his Soulful Strings efforts.

Dave and Ansil Collins either heard the LP or the 45 of ‘Party Time’, and with the addition of some toasting by Dave Barker, ‘Double Barrel’ took Evans melody and turned it into an island classic in 1969.

‘Up Pops Ramsey’ is also worth hearing in its entirety, packed with groovy covers and of course those Richard Evans arrangements.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you on Friday.

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, January 17, 2016 10:57 am

Listen/Download – The Jagged Edge – Baby You Don’t Know MP3

Greetings all.

We start the week with a 45 that is something of a mystery.

The first time I heard ‘Baby You Don’t Know’ by the Jagged Edge I knew I had to find a copy.

It is a fast-paced, dance floor friendly mover, with some falsetto/harmony vocals, and a choppy rhythm guitar. It (understandably) has something of a following on the Northern scene in the UK.

Though I can date the record to 1966, other than the presence of producer Felton Jarvis (that would likely place the recording in the south, probably Nashville), there isn’t much to go on.

There were a number of groups operating with the name ‘Jagged Edge’ around the same time, including rock groups in New York and Detroit (this is neither of those groups).

All that, and the fact that the flipside, ‘Deep Inside’ defies categorization, sounding almost like the Four Seasons, with the addition of a bizarre sounding, primitive wah-wah/distorted guitar.

If anyone knows anything else about the 45, please drop me a line in the comments.

I hope you 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, January 14, 2016 12:47 pm

Razzy Bailey

Listen/Download – Razzy – I Hate Hate MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, bringing you the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove all on original vinyl.

You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab yourself an MP3 here at the blog, or for the first show of the month at SoulGuyRadio.com

The tune I bring you today is something completely groovy and unusual.

If the name Razzy Bailey is at all familiar to you, it is probably because he was a country music hitmaker in the 1980s.

Bailey wrote/recorded today’s selection, ‘I Hate Hate’ in 1974, and had a sizable hit with it, first on Aquarian and then picked up for national distribution by MGM.

The song is a sweet, danceable, ever so slightly funky number that has – over the years – become something of a fave on the Northern Soul and crossover scenes.

The MGM version of the 45 is a slightly stripped-down take, with the children’s chorus (billed as the Neighborhood Kids on the Aquarian 45) mixed way down, and the drums and percussion higher in the mix.

Bailey, who got his start alongside cats like Joe South, went on to rack up a bunch of country hits (including a cover of Wilson Pickett’s ‘Midnight Hour’) in the 1980s.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all next week.

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.

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By Larry, January 12, 2016 12:57 pm

Lonnie Youngblood

Listen/Download – Lonnie Youngblood – Roll With the Punches MP3

Greetings all.

Here’s a groovy one for you.

If you’re going to dig, you have to be able to read a label with some level of skill, i.e. pick up on the pedigree of a particular record, able to make a relative judgement about the quality of a disc by seeing who put it together.

I am always in the market for a Lonnie Youngblood 45, but when I see the name Jerry Ragovoy on the disc, and then that of James ‘The Mighty Hannibal’ Shaw, you know I’m putting that one on the ‘keeper’ pile.

Released in 1968, ‘Roll With the Punches’ is a fast moving, dance floor ready number with a great vocal by Lonnie, and some tasty backing vocals by the ladies.

I especially dig the bass (thumping!) and horns on this one, and the production by Ragovoy is predictably first-rate.

I can’t say with certainty how Hannibal placed this tune with Youngblood (or Ragovoy) but this 45 comes from the same time Hannibal was recording his own excellent 45s for Loma, so proximity would be a safe bet.

That said, it is very cool.

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.

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By Larry, January 10, 2016 2:47 pm

Chuck Brooks

Listen/Download – Chuck Brooks – Baa Baa Black Sheep MP3

Greetings all.

How about some nice, funky Memphis soul?

I forget where I first heard this 45 (I’m guessing on Facebook somewhere) but when I did, I knew I had to find myself a copy.

Chuck Brooks was a Memphis-based singer/songwriter who waxed 45s for AGP, Volt, Mercury, Chimneyville, and Malaco between 1969 and 1977.

Today’s selection, ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ was recorded/released in 1969, recorded in Memphis and produced by Tommy Cogbill.

It was also released in the UK that year on Dave Godin’s Soul City imprint.

A tough, funky number with some hard-hitting guitar, and organ, as well as a strong vocal by Brooks, ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ failed to hit the charts, though it certainly should have (his 1970 45 for Volt got some play in Philadelphia).

Interestingly enough, after his recording career, Brooks went into business with none other than Homer Banks, forming the Sound Town label, and co-writing, producing early 80s hits for J Blackfoot.

I hope you dig the 45, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.

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.

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By Larry, January 7, 2016 12:28 pm

Jesse Hill

Listen/Download – Jesse Hill – My Children My Children MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is near, and so I will beseech you once again to subscribe to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday in iTunes and Mixcloud. You can also listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab and MP3 here at the blog.

Jesse Hill is one of the more interesting, second-rank, New Orleans performers of the classic era.

He first came to prominence in 1961 with the classic (and as close to a NOLA ‘standard’ as there is) ‘Ooh Poo Pah Do’.

Hill had gotten his start as a drummer, but moved out front as a vocalist. He had a wild growl –not unlike his homeboy Chris Kenner – and a talent for writing songs as well.

Hill was part of the New Orleans contingent – along with Harold Battiste, Mac ‘Dr John’ Rebennack and Alvin Robinson – that made their way to Los Angeles in the 1960s, working as session musicians, songwriters and performers. While in California Hill would write/cowrite songs for Cher, The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Cake, Delaney and Bonnie, and Dr John among others.

Somewhere along the way, in 1967, Hill made the 45 you see before you today. Co-written with Rebennack, and produced by Huey Meaux (which makes me think that this was recorded in Louisiana or Texas and then leased to Chess in Chicago) ‘My Children My Children’ is a solid slice of New Orleans soul.

The song sounds like it has roots in the same gospel song that Chris Kenner borrowed from for ‘Land of 1,000 Dances’ (‘Children Go Where I Send Thee’).

The song is pushed along by the bass and saxophones, as well as a female chorus that does a call and response with Hill.

Interestingly, this was recorded and released round the same time as the rare and coveted ‘Zu Zu Blues Band’ 45 (another Hill/Rebennack collab).

I can’t say anything about the flipside (written by Meaux) because my copy is a one-sided promo.

A few years down the line Hill would record some excellent 45s, and an LP for LA-based Pulsar Records.

He eventually returned to New Orleans, where addiction and other health issues left him destitute. He passed in 1996, and according to his Wiki is buried in a pauper’s grave.

That said, I hope you dig the tune, and if you don’t know Jesse Hill’s other stuff, get out there and check it out.

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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, January 5, 2016 12:55 pm

The Mark Lewis Trio

Listen/Download – The Mark Lewis Trio – Funky Street MP3

Greetings all.

Here’s a wild one for you.

As an inveterate digger/collector, with big ears (literally and figuratively) and an insatiable curiosity, I’m always picking up weird stuff in the hope that I might have happened upon hiden treasure.

Unfortunately, most of the time, it’s not treasure, but garbage.

However, once in a blue moon, I turn up something groovy, like today’s selection.

I’ve had this record for so long, that I can’t remember exactly where I picked it up, other than it was out “in the wild” somewhere, and that it was cheap.

Back in the day – moreso in the 60s/70s than now – the hotel lounges of the world were staffed with entertainment, ranging from solo piano/singers (like my Pop, way back when) all the way up to full sized show bands, with horn sections, back up singers and the whole megillah.

The Mark Lewis Trio appear to have fallen somewhere in the middle, with an organ/sax/drums/vocals line up, playing a wide variety of pop/soul material.

As these kinds of records go, the song selection is fairly hip/young, though the delivery is decidedly middle of the road, except – of course – for their version of Arthur Conley’s 1968 ‘Funky Street’.

Now, looking at the picture of the group from the album cover, you’d never expect to hear anything remotely soulful (or even energetic) yet against all odds, the Mark Lewis Trio delivers.

The overall effect is somewhere in the neighborhood of “soulful garage band”, but they hit the tune with gusto, and the sax/organ/drums interplay is pretty tasty.

It’s not the heaviest thing ever, but when you take the look of the group, and the rest of the album, and do the math, it’s a lot cooler than you’d expect.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back 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.

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By Larry, January 3, 2016 12:57 pm

The reunited Velvet Hammer!

Listen/Download – Velvet Hammer – Happy MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you well.

The tune I bring you today is one of those records that I happened upon quite by accident, and fell in love with instantly.

Oddly enough, the song popped up in a medley in a video by the ‘Northern Soul Girl’ Levanna Mclean, in which she dances through the streets of Bristol, UK, first to Pharrell Williams ‘Happy’, and then to another song that I’d never heard before.

I found out in short order that the tune was ‘Happy’ by the group Velvet Hammer.

Recorded in 1977 in Chicago, with the songwriting and production assistance of none other than Andre Williams (this may be the latest thing I’ve ever heard by him) ‘Happy’ is a delirious mixture of a danceable beat (thus it’s popularity with the Northern Soul crowd), sweet soul falsetto soul and a classy arrangement.

What I know about the group I owe to the efforts of the late, sweet soul expert Bob Abrahamian, who traced the group’s roots to the 1960s Chicago group the Admirations, on through their evolution into the Green Berets, the High Society, and then in the mid-70s, into Velvet Hammer.

They recorded an entire LP for the Chicago-based Soozi Records (apparently run by the owners of a chain of barbecue restaurants!), from which ‘Happy’ and its b-side ‘Party Hardy’ were culled.

As I mentioned above, ‘Happy’ has that straight up, four on the floor beat that endears it to the soulies, yet it’s couched in an elegant, restrained arrangement (dig the way the organ and the jazzy guitar play against the strings) that makes it as easy to listen to as to dance.

It tends to be a relatively pricey 45 (especially after it was featured in the video above), but seems to have settled down a little (the promo, like mine, tends to run a little cheaper than the issue on the flowered label).

If you get a chance, take a look at the video of the reunited Velvet Hammer performing the tune live.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

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.

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By Larry, December 31, 2015 11:06 am

Kool and the Gang

Listen/Download – Kool and the Gang – Jungle Jazz MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is near, and so I will encourage you to partake in the soulful smorgasmord that is the weekly Funky16Corners Radio Show, in which I endeavor to bring you the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. The show drops every week (the first show of every month at SoulGuyRadio.com) and you can subscribe to it as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

We close out the week (and the year, Happy New Year!) with something deeply funky, designed (and guaranteed) to get your ass up out of the chair and onto the dance floor.

I have sung the praises of New Jersey’s own Kool and the Gang a number of times over the years, telling the story of how it was their music, way back in the 5th grade at Milford Brook School that truly introduced me to the funk.

Today’s selection will sound instantly familiar, as it is the 1975 reworking of their 1973 hit ‘Jungle Boogie’, offered here as ‘Jungle Jazz’.

While ‘Jungle Boogie’ is itself a hot piece of work, ‘Jungle Jazz’ sounds like Kool et al weren’t satisfied with the overall funk quotient of the OG, so they went back into the lab and Frankensteined that shit right up, with a mess of drums and some very tasty flute.

Sure, you get the gong at the beginning, but when those drums drop in…holy shit. George ‘Funky’ Brown beats that bass drum like it stole his lunch money, and then the various and sundry percussion accents (cowbells, conga, wood blocks etc) come in and all of a sudden you’re out on the floor shaking like a man (or woman) possessed.

That drum opening is a funky-ass miracle, which is why it was sampled so often.*

Despite the fact that what you’re getting here is a reengineered ‘Jungle Boogie’, the band really work hard to add to the cut. The flute, by Dennis Thomas is some next-level, overblowing ish in a Jeremy Steig stylee, and the horn section is really working it out, too.

This is the kind of record that funk nights were designed for, and if you cannot (or will not) dance to it (even in your seat) your shocking lack of soul will be duly noted.

So pull down the ones and zeros, and whip this on some squares.

Have a great weekend, Happy New Year and see you in 2016!

Keep the faith

Larry

* Records sampling – “Jungle Jazz”
2 Live Crew’s “Hangin Out”
3rd Bass’s “Brooklyn-Queens”
Biz Markie’s “I’m the Biz Markie”
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.’s “Rated R”
Brand Nubian’s “Drop the Bomb”
Gus Gus’s “Believe”
Hi-C’s “Leave My Curl Alone”
Incognito’s “Roots (Back to a Way of Life)”
Jade’s “Don’t Walk Away”
MARRS’s “Pump up the Volume”
Public Enemy’s “Anti-Ni**er Machine”
Stetsasonic’s “So Let the Fun Begin”

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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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, December 29, 2015 10:40 am

Listen/Download – Righteous Brothers Band – Rat Race MP3

Greetings all.

I come to you in the middle of the week with an entry from the ancient tome, ‘The Weird World of Northern Soul’.

Truth be told, ‘Rat Race’ by the Righteous Brothers Band isn’t really weird at all, but it is a small window into the kind of unusual things that made their way into the Northern Soul canon back in the day.

While the Righteous Brothers made some groovy blue-eyed soul, and both side of this particular 45 are cool, ‘Rat Race’ isn’t exactly a textbook example of ‘soul’.

Originally composed by Elmer Bernstein for the 1960 Debbie Reynolds/Tony Curtis film of the same name, ‘Rat Race’ is a pounding instrumental that owes a tip of the hat to tunes like Henry Mancini’s theme from ‘Peter Gunn’.

Recorded in an earlier (slower) version by Sam Butera and the Witnesses, ‘Rat Race’ was redone by the Righteous Brothers Band in 1966 and in the next few years became a favorite of the UK soul scene.

‘Rat Race’ is one of those instrumentals that made its way into the canon by virtue of it’s unrelenting, four on the floor pace and the walls of brass.

Where Butera’s 1960 version is marked by growling, noir jazz saxophone, the Righteous Brothers Band arrangement (by Bill Baker, who arranged most of the RB’s records) has a slicker, uptown feel to it, and the pulsing beat locks into the Northern Soul “feel”.

While it certainly isn’t the weirdest, most incongruous instro to become a NS fave, it does illustrate the bridge between pop (or at least things not “purely” soul) and the Northern scene in that its importance is not in soulful roots, but more that it was really good to dance to.

It was so popular that it was repressed twice in 1970 and 1977 (in Ireland and the UK) as the flipside of ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’.

I dig it a lot, and I hope you do, too.

See you 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.