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By Larry, March 31, 2011 10:45 am

Oh, yes…

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop A-Go-Go 71MB/256K Mixed MP3

Brothers Two – Boogaloo Soul Party (Crimson)
Roy Lee Johnson – Boogaloo #3 (Josie)
Barbara Lynn – Club A Go Go (Tribe)
Norman T Washington – Jumping Jack Flash (Pama)
Eyes of Blue – Heart Trouble (Deram)
Lil Bob and the Lollipops – I Got Loaded (La Louisianne)
Wayne Cochran – Goin’ back to Miami (Mercury)
Chet Poison Ivey and His Fabulous Avengers – Shake a Poo Poo (TRC)
Willie Tell and the Overtures – Soul Ranger (Chess)
Interpretations – Snap Out (Bell)
Syl Johnson – Different Strokes (Twilight)
Mad Men – African Twist Pt1 (Gamble)
Sir Lattimore Brown – Shake and Vibrate (SS7)
Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1 (Fat Back)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Shotgun Man (Smash)
Jeanne & the Darlings – Soul Girl (Volt)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and as is almost always the case, so is the end of my patience/energy.

This has been a very busy week, blog-o-rifically and lifewise, and sometimes it seems that the challenges just keep on coming, like lining up outside my door like I’m handing out hundred dollar bills and grilled cheese sandwiches, and then going around the back so they can get in line again to kick me in the ass.

Not everything is bad, since it looks like April is going to be a very busy month DJ-wise, but as always, it’s just a matter of getting all of my psychotic ducks in a row.

When I get all the gig details ironed out, I will make announcements in this space.

That said, it’s time again to remind you all that if you are not otherwise occupied Friday night at 9PM, you should roll on up to the intertubes and grab you some Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. I always endeavor to bring you the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all culled from vinyl, all engineered for your listening pleasure. If you can’t be there at broadcast time, you can always pick up the shows in MP3 form over the weekend here at the blog.

As promised, I’m posting the second live set from last week’s Spindletop @ Botanica. This time you get more of the partying grooves, including one of my faves by an artist who was taken from us unexpectedly last week, the mighty Sir Lattimore Brown.

There’s all kinds of groovy stuff in the mix, all good’n’greasy enough to get the laziest SOB up off their butt and out onto the floor.

Speaking of getting out on the floor, I’ve been hard (and I do mean hard) at work this week cooking up a very tasty mix that will most definitely loosen up your wig and heat up your shorts. I will be dropping it on Monday, so make sure you have lots of ice, potato chips and several varieties of potent spirits, ‘cuz you’re going to need them.

That said, enjoy the sounds, have yourself a groovy weekend and I’ll be back on Monday with more of the stuff you love.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, March 24, 2011 9:31 am

Listen to him Lucy. He know’s what he’s talking about.

Listen/Download – F16C Soul Club Presents – Spindletop New Breed 76MB/256K Mixed MP3

Jimmy Hannah & the Dynamics – Leaving Here (Seafair/Bolo)
Frank Frost – My Back Scratcher (Jewel)
Bobby Powell – Why Am I Treated So Bad (Whit)
Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm – The New Breed Pt1 (Sue)
Richard Berry & the Pharaohs – Louie Louie (Flip)
Roy Thompson – Sookie Sookie (Okeh)
Mighty Hannibal – Jerkin’ the Dog (Shurfine)
Bobby Parker – Watch Your Step (V Tone)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling Pt1 (Fairmount)
Roger & the Gypsies – Pass the Hatchet Pt1 (Seven B)
Scatman Crothers – Golly! Zonk! It’s Scatman (HBR)
Derek Martin – Daddy Rollin’ Stone (Crackerjack)
King Coleman – Boo Boo Song Pt2 (King)
Billy Preston – Let the Music Play (Capitol)
Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In the Basement Pt1 (Chess)
Dottie Cambridge – He’s About a Mover (MGM)
Freddie Scott – Pow City! (Marlin)

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and I am in dire need of some form of stress relief, whether it’s extended, uninterrupted sleep, intoxication of some sort or just deep, silent meditation.

It’s not that this week has been extraordinarily rough, ‘cause it hasn’t, but rather some combination of not enough sleep (DJ-ing two hours away on a Monday night will do that), a cold (and/or the onset of seasonal allergies) and the normal slate of irritants, have all combined to do a number on my head.

That said, I’m going to take a tip from the Sims Twins and let a little soul music ‘Soothe Me’.

First, I’ll remind you that this Friday night at 9PM the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to Viva Radio with another hour of the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all straight from my crates to your ears. As always you can either tune in on the interwebs, or come by here over the weekend to pick up the show in its easy to use MP3 form. Either way, the sounds are equally excellent.

I had a gas on Monday spinning at Spindletop, and managed once again to capture the goings on with my handheld digital recorder, so that I might share some of it with you good folks.

I went through the musical fruits (no beans…) of the evening and carved out two sets of grooves, one of which I’ll whip on you today, the second which I’ll drop at the end of next week.

This time out I dipped into the crates and whipped out the best in hard-charging, soul party action, from gritty R&B, tough dance floor soul, right on to early funk.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, that one of the prime reasons I love to DJ in a bar or club is the opportunity to hear really amazing records pumping out of a great big set of speakers. You can set the Mighty Hannibal loose in your earbuds, but it’s just not as cool as hearing him unwind his turban with ‘Jerkin’ the Dog’ shaking a room full of people like a minor earthquake.

Every single one of the records in these mixes is perfect for such an environment. I’d go as far as to say that gathered together like this, they might be too powerful for a Friday or Saturday, yet pack just enough musical TNT to set things off on a Monday.

If I was you, I’d pull down the ones and zeros, hit the liquor store, invite over some friends, roll back the carpet and turn up the stereo and do like Mr. Waiters says:

Jump back honey and let the New Breed by!

See you on Monday

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some Laurel Canyon cool from Mama Cass.

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By Larry, February 25, 2011 11:02 am

Spindletop Northern Soul Pt4

Jackie Lee – The Shotgun and the Duck (Mirwood)
Judy Street – What (Grapevine)
Rodge Martin – Loving Machine (Bragg)
Olympics – Mine Exclusively (Mirwood)
JJ Barnes – Day Tripper (Ric Tic)
Bonnie and Lee – The Way I Feel About You (Fairmount)
Marvin Gaye – Baby Don’t Do It (Tamla)
Pieces of Eight – Come Back Baby (A&M)
Liberty Belles – Shing A Ling Time (Shout)
Tommy & Cleve – Boogaloo Baby (Checker)
Guitar Ray – Patty Cake Shake (Hot Line)
Gloria Jones – Tainted Love (Champion)
Jean Wells – With My Love and What You Got (Calla)

Listen/Download -F16C Spindletop Northern Soul Pt4 – 59MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

The week is coming to a close, and so is our little experiment.

I behooves me to remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns tonight at 9PM at Viva Radio. Make sure you tune in for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove. If you can’t, make sure to stop by the blog over the weekend to  pick up the MP3 version of the show.

When you whip four separate Northern Soul mixes* on the blog on four consecutive days, you risk being accused of overkill.

That my friends is a risk I am ready and willing to take.

You see – and I don’t think I’ve discussed this before, at least in this way – Northern Soul, or at least much of the music that meets the sonic criteria to be considered part of the genre, is some of the most dynamic, exciting and above all accessible ‘soul’ music.

Though there are the occasional fringe records that fall inside the Northern bailiwick that manage to be danceable yet ultimately soul-less, they are the exception to the rule.

To lay it out in the simplest way possible, Northern Soul was mostly (important word, that) imitation Motown, or at least music that strove to imitate those labels that arose alongside of Motown in the world of stylish urban soul. By this I mean labels like Okeh, Brunswick, Mirwood, Harthon, Fairmount, Chess, Calla and any number of smaller Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles labels (or points anywhere else on the musical map) where records with pounding beats, pop hooks and soulful vocals were being made.

When I was rapping with my man Perry Lane, I mentioned that my wife, a woman of exceptional taste but who would not normally be described as a soul fan, really digs the Northern sound. This is relevant because I’d say that most hardcore soul fans approach records with an agenda, whether it’s because a given 45 is cemented in a stylistic canon, coveted because of its rarity, or connected to a label, artist or other focal point.

When someone who is not a record collector finds themselves drawn to a genre that they wouldn’t identify, the chances are that they do so simply because they like the way it sounds. The music rises up from the grooves, through the stylus and the speakers and finds its way into the pleasure centers of their brain, and whatever part of the central nervous system that causes involuntary movement in the feet (tapping), hips (swaying) and head (nodding).

A lot of the Northern Soul records that I have either hit me retroactively (i.e. I grabbed them because I was collecting a certain group, label or region) or because I heard them first (by the original artist on a comp) or second (via a cover by groups like the Action, Artwoods, Timebox etc) hand but as I became acquainted with the genre and found my way into the canon I began to seek out records because of that and the new stuff coalesced with the things I already had and I discovered a sound or genre rising from the depths of my crates.

I realize that my attachment to this music comes at some distance, and that much of what made the movement exciting – the whole of Northern Soul culture in the UK – is part of the past, there’s something rewarding (as there is when you spin any collection of music that ought to be better known than it is for people eager to listen, and dance) about gathering these sounds and whipping them on people.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, any DJ worth their salt carries with them the power packed in the grooves of records, and when you spin the right records at the right time, in the right sequence you release that power and pass it on to the people listening, and all that matters then is that good music that they may not have heard before is hitting those pleasure centers I mentioned a few graphs ago, and it is translated into smiles and movement and if you’re lucky someone picks up on it and wants to seek it out on their own and an obscure, 45 year old record, filled with talent and passion lives another day.

Because keeping the sound alive – keeping the faith – is what it (and this blog) is all about.

I hope you dig it, pull down the ones and zeros on this fourth installment and move, groove and feel it.

I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

* All recorded live on 2/21/11 at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for an unusual cover of one of the greatest records of the 60s.

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By Larry, January 6, 2011 3:18 pm

Miss Lorna Bennett

Listen/Download – Lorna Bennett – Breakfast In Bed

Greetings all.

I hope that you’re all weathering the weather (there’s got to be a better way to phrase that) better than I am. This cold is kicking my ass. The first few hours of the day should be spent wrapped securely in a warm blanket, easing into a mellow state of awake-ness, instead of rolling out of the sack and into 20 degree temperatures in the space of 45 minutes, which is what I did this morning.

Fortunately, after getting the little Corners on the bus, and running various and sundry errands I have returned to my desk, deep inside the well-heated, secure Funky16Corners command center.

Before we get started, I should remind you that this Friday night at 9PM – as is always the case – the Funky16Corners Radio Show will be taking to the airwaves, this week with an upbeat, hard-charging Northern Soul special guaranteed to get you out on the floor. Make sure to fall by Viva Radio, or if plans preclude timely listening, hit the blog on Saturday to pick up an MP3 of the show, which you may listen to at your leisure.

I will remind you once again that I’ll be taking part in the Spindletop night with DJ Perry Lane next Monday night (1/10) , beginning at 10PM at Botanica, 47 East Houston Street (between Mulberry and Mott) in New York City. There will be many shades of organ grooviness, as well as vibes, snappy drums and what not.

Now that I’ve wasted space complaining about the cold,  what better time for a little bit of island soul?

I have to admit, although I featured the Baby Washington version of ‘Breakfast In Bed’ in this space back in 2006, the first time I ever heard the song was via the 1988 cover version by UB40 and Chrissie Hynde.

At the time it was getting some airplay on the local alternative station, as well as on MTV. I dug the tune a lot, and eventually picked up a radio station promo CD single (no doubt liberated from the aforementioned local station and resold), which I still have banging around somewhere.

I was unaware that the song was a cover until I saw the writing credit for Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts, and even then I had no idea who did the original version.
What I wouldn’t discover until many years later, was that the UB40/Hynde version was in its way a cover of a cover (cover once removed??).

The song was written by Hinton and Fritts for Dusty Springfield’s 1969 ‘Dusty in Memphis’ album. Shortly after that, Baby Washington recorded her own – in my opinion, superior – version of the song (eventually released on Cotillion)*.

Oddly enough, for such a finely crafted piece of Southern soul neither Springfield nor Washington’s version of the song met with any chart success.

Flash forward to 1972, when a young Jamaican singer named Lorna Bennett recorded her own version for the Harry J label.

Produced by Geoffrey Chung, Bennett’s version of the tune was a #1 hit in Jamaica, also garnering a substantial amount of airplay in the UK (which is likely where the boys in UB40 heard it first).

Though Bennett’s version of ‘Breakfast In Bed’ lacks the dynamic shifts and drama of the Springfield and Washington recordings, it does have a certain pleasant, laid back vibe (repeated in the UB40/Hynde version) that locks in with the reggae beat.

Bennett went on to have a few more Jamaican hits (including a cover of the Dixie Cups’ ‘Chapel of Love’) before retiring to practice law in 1974. She returned to performing in 2001.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*There were also early covers by Carmen McRae (1970) and Shirley Bassey (1971)

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a garage cover of a soul classic

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By Larry, December 2, 2010 12:33 pm

The Sweet Delights

Listen/Download – The Sweet Delights – Baby Be Mine
Listen/Download – Delights Orchestra – Paul’s Midnight Ride

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, and despite a couple of stumbling blocks (like my weak back), it went pretty fast.

Chanukah celebrations are underway (the Funky16Corners Compound is a multi-cultural thang where we light both the menorah and the Christmas tree) and everybody is tired but happy.

Before we get started I should mention that tomorrow night the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio arrives on the interwebs at 9PM and will be filled, as usual, with the best in funk, soul, jazz, rare groove and disco for your eager ears.

I should also remind you that the new Funky16Corners stickers are now available to one and all if you send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (unstamped if you are outside of the USA) to Funky16Corners, c/o Grogan, 80 New Brunswick Ave, Brick, NJ 08724.

The tunes I bring you today come from both sides of a single 45 that has had a place in my Philly crates for what might be described as a long-ass time.

I always dug it, and was intrigued by it (more on that in a minute) but it is also safe to say that I as mystified by it as well.

The artists listed on the disc are the Sweet Delights (vocal side) and the Delights Orchestra (instrumental).
When I found this one, I already had another 45 by the Delights Orchestra (also on Atco), ‘King of the Horse’ b/w ‘Do Your Thing’, both sides of which have appeared in Funky16Corners Radio podcasts.

I grabbed that disc initially because it was quite obviously an attempt to cash in on the ‘Horse’ craze started by Cliff Nobles and Company in 1968. Check out Funky16Corners Radio v.22 – Horse Power for a look at a bunch of discs on the same tip.

That said, it was probably a year or so later that I found today’s 45s during a search in the wilds of the intertubes. When the disc fell through the mail slot and I gave it a spin I was pleasantly surprised to discover the vocal side of the 45.

Unfortunately I was unable to turn up any information on the group, assuming – due both to the similar sound, and the familiar names of Frank Virtue and Johnny Stiles (post-Harthon) on the label – that what I was hearing was yet another iteration of the stalwart Philly rhythm section that played on so many amazing records over the years.

I had no inkling whatsoever that the Sweet Delights were anything but an anonymous group of singers assembled for the session.

However, sometimes – like a frozen mammoth exposed by a receding glacier – if you wait long enough, all will be revealed.

During a perusal of an old back issue of Billboard magazine, I happened upon an ad for new releases on the Atco label that included the image of the Sweet Delights you see at the top of this post.

That was a nice surprise, and it spurred me on to dig a little deeper.

When I did – thanks to an article at the Classic Urban Harmony web site (which includes a much nicer picture of the group) – I discovered that one of the co-writers of ‘Baby Be Mine’, Eddie Edgehill had a long history in Philadelphia doowop groups like the Valentines and the Del Knights, eventually going on to form and record the Sweet Delights (which included his wife Geri Edgehill, Betty Allen, Valerie Brown, Grace Montgomery Allison and the group’s sole male member, and the other co-writer of the song, Albert Byrd).*

The Sweet Delights 45 was released in 1968, with the Delights Orchestra two-sider coming in 1969. ‘Baby Be Mine’ is a fast moving soul/funk tune that bears a passing resemblance to Jackie Wilson’s ‘Higher and Higher’.

Oddly, it was the instrumental side of the 45 that gained some traction on the radio, which is probably why the Sweet Delights are pictured in the ad, but the text is promoting the Delight’s Orchestra.

There’s also an interesting footnote in regard to ‘Paul’s Midnight Ride’. I found a post on the Numero Group (issuers of many amazing compilations) blog about the track (‘Paul’s Midnight Ride’) being lifted and re-used on two other 45s, one by DJ Tim Jacob in Wichita, Kansas, and the other by Sonorose ‘Gay Poppa’ Rutledge in Shreveport, Louisiana (though if you listen to the sound samples provided at the blog, both records sound exactly the same, with the same vocal laid over the ‘Paul’s Midnight Ride’ track). How this track made it’s way onto these records is anyone’s guess, but I’m willing to bet that the ‘borrowing’ was not officially sanctioned by the track’s creators (none of whom are seem to be credited on the labels).

Interesting, and a long way to travel for an obscure soul track.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*For some reason ‘Paul’s Midnight Ride’, basically the instrumental bed of ‘Baby Be Mine’ is credited on the 45 to Frank Virtue, Johnny Stiles and arranger Bobby Martin

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg

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By Larry, November 21, 2010 3:03 pm

Funky16Corners Radio v.90 – Soul In Harmony

Playlist

Listen/Download 110MB/256kb Mixed MP3

Download 81MB Zip File

Thanksgiving week is here (at least in the US), and this year I have lots to be thankful for, as well as lots to do.

I’ve decided to drop this mix today, and pretty much take the rest of the week off.

There will be a new episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva radio this Friday at 9PM, so make sure you check that out, should you be passed out next to the internet, in a turkey and pie induced food coma.

Funky16Corners Radio v.90 – Soul In Harmony is one of those mixes that has been cooking (in my head, anyway) for a long time.

I’m not sure how much it has been visible here on the blog (anyone have time lapse footage of the last five years?), but my tastes – often spurred on by a periodic excavation in my record room – are always evolving.

Back in the day, when I first started to collect soul 45s, it was all about the rough and ready Southern sound, fast moving and loud.

It would be years before I really started to examine soul ballads, and then I started to dig into funk, and then Northern Soul, then to disco and on and on, hopefully ad infinitum.

The latest spike on the evolutionary time-line popped up sometime in the last year, spurred on by the sounds of sweet soul.

The AM radio of my youth was filled with bands like the Chi-Lites, the Stylistics, Blue Magic and others, and to be honest, it all struck me as a little mushy, but then again I was 10 years old.

As I got older, and started to listen and dig, ever deeper into the sounds of soul, I discovered a fair amount of sweeter, soul harmony stuff, often on the B-sides of more upbeat, aggressive records, and as is often the case, despite the comparative ‘lightness’ of some of these records, I was drawn in by what always grabs me, that being good songs.

The first record in this style that really knocked me out was the Intruder’s ‘A Love That’s Real’ still one of my favorite records.

Thanks to both geographic proximity and the quality of the music, I’ve collected Philly soul for a long time, and one thing the cats in Philly knew how to create was solid harmony soul. Almost a third of the records I put into this mix are by Philly groups, another third from Detroit or Chicago, and the rest spread over the map (including one by my Jersey Shore homeboys the Broadways).

The importance of tight harmony singing has been a hallmark of black music, from the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots in the 30s and 40s, countless groups in the 50s and of course everything in this mix, from the classic soul era.

There’s really something special about harmony singing. Done well, it’s not just an accidental meshing of random voices, but rather an aural tapestry woven from perfectly complementary elements.

The ‘classic’ soulful blend, with a tenor, or sometimes baritone lead, a bass and often someone capable of singing in falsetto provides a basic sound, but when some (or all) of these roles are filled by extraordinary singers the end result is something magical.

All of the songs in this mix hail from between 1966 and 1970, a period when a certain maturity and creative growth was on the rise in soul music, when the finest groups intersected with great writers and producers to make music of increasing sophistication and depth.

Though there is a general stylistic thread running through this mix, the tempos vary between pure balladry, upbeat, danceable soul and slightly rougher edged sounds.

There are a few songs that have appeared here before, but when I started assembling the playlist, I knew that they had to be included.

Things get started with the truly amazing ‘I Don’t Know How To Say I Love You (Don’t Walk Away)’ by the mighty Superlatives. I have sung the praises of this record before, but it certainly can’t hurt to hear it again. The combination of sweet vocals, heavy drums and that stellar arrangement are truly amazing.

The Broadways, without any question the greatest soul group to come out of the Jersey Shore recorded two solid 45s for MGM. Their ‘You Just Don’t Know’ is a staple of my Northern Soul sets, and while ‘Sweet and Heavenly Melody’ also packs a driving beat, it has a lushness to it (how about those strings) that sets it apart.

I don’t know much about the Hesitations. I’ve seen their records – often packed with covers – for years, but only bought on for the first time a few months ago. ‘Stay In My Corner’ is a marvel, with the singers alternating leads over dynamic backing vocals.

The Ethics recorded a series of excellent 45s for Philadelphia’s Vent label in the late 60s, including the Northern classic ‘Look at Me Now’. ‘Think About Tomorrow’ is a much slower, much sweeter, falsetto-led ballad that was clearly tailored to reflect the sounds that Gamble and Huff were creating at the same time.

One of the rougher sounding, yet oddly pretty songs in this mix is ‘I’ll Be Loving You’ by the Soul Brothers Six. The flipside of the classic ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’, ‘I’ll Be Loving You’ features what is, in comparison to most of the records in this mix, remarkably spare instrumentation, with rhythm guitar, thumping bass, drums and tambourine, all sounding like it was recorded in one take. The real star here, aside from John Ellison’s wonderful lead vocal, is the second guitar, which has a kind of chiming overtone to it that from a distance sounds like vibraphone accents. The more I listen to this one the more I love it.

The next cut is by the Blue Notes (as in Harold Melvin and…). Right before they began their run of hits with Philadelphia International, the group recorded two 45s for the Uni label. ‘Never Gonna Leave You’ (from 1969) was the B-side of the funky ‘Hot Thrills and Cold Chills’. The 45 was reissued a few years later, no doubt to capitalize on the success of their PI hits.

‘I’ll Make It Up To You’ by the Magictones is the bottom half of one of the truly great Detroit soul 45s (the A-side being their epic cover of the Parliaments’ ‘Good Ole Music’). Much like the Superlatives record (also released on Westbound), the Magictones juxtapose their harmonies with a heavy background, including some tasty electric sitar.

Though they’re best known for their early, doowop sides, Little Anthony and the Imperials recorded well into the classic soul era, including and excellent run of 45s for the Veep label between 1966 and 1969. ‘It’s Not the Same’ which features Anthony Gourdine’s unmistakable falsetto, and a classy arrangement (in which the Imperials are often doubled by female backing singers), bears a slight (but not overpowering) similarity to ‘Goin’ Out of My Head’ (also from 1966).

Speaking of Philadephia soul, there are few groups who were as successful – artistically and on the charts – as the mighty Intruders. ‘Everyday Is a Holiday’ (from 1969) is a great showcase for their unique harmonies and a muscular production and arrangement by Gamble and Huff. Listen closely to the bass and drums (almost funky), as well as the horns and staccato piano accents in the verse.

Chicago’s Artistics were reliable hitmakers for the Brunswick label in the late 60s. ‘What Happened’ is another record that seems to run on the outskirts of funk, as well as displaying the influence of the Temptations.

Another group with solid roots in the doowop era, that also made some great soul records was the Platters. Though they had few (if any) original members by the time they recorded ‘Sweet Sweet Lovin’ in 1967.
Featuring a great lead vocal by Sonny Turner, ‘Sweet Sweet Lovin’ is typical of the kind of upbeat, danceable soul the group was making in this period.

We head back to the City of Brotherly Love with the Ambassadors. One of the truly great Philly bands of the late 60s and early 70s, the Ambassadors recorded some excellent 45s for Atlantic before moving on to Arctic records where they would record several outstanding 45s and an LP. They were adept a certain brand of funky soul, best displayed on 1969s ‘A.W.O.L.’.

When I wrote about the Precisions ‘You’ll Soon Be Gone’ back in 2008, I compare the sound of the record with a lot of the later period stuff that the Parliaments recorded for Revilot (it probably featured a lot of the same musicians. It has a much harder sound than their other Drew 45s.

Chicago’s Radiants recorded some of my favorite soul 45s of the 60s. By the time they recorded ‘I’m Glad I’m the Loser’, their lead vocalist Maurice McAlister had departed. I’m not sure who’s singing lead on this one, but he tears it up.

The Originals recorded a string of great records for Motown in the late 60s, their biggest hit being 1969s ‘Baby, I’m For Real’. ‘Love Is a Wonder’ is a brilliant bit of late 60s Motown, mixing tight, tight harmonies and a powerful arrangement. The lead vocalist sounds like someone Daryl Hall probably spent a lot of time listening to.

Another great tune that bears a passing resemblance to a previous success is the Intrigues ‘I’m Gonna Love You’. The Philadelphia group hit the charts in the summer of 1969 with ‘In A Moment’, a song with a similar vibe and arrangement to the tune in this mix. They recorded a number of cool 45s for the Yew label and hit the R&B (and occasionally Pop) charts a few times between 1969 and 1971.

If you’re a regular visitor to Funky16Corners, you’ll already know that the mighty Volcanos are one of my all time favorite soul groups. Led by singer Gene Faith (born Eugene Jones), the Volcanos recorded some of the finest soul singles to come out of Philadephia in the 1960s for the Arctic and Harthon labels. They had the instrumental backing of the core of the famed Philly rhythm section and material from some of the best songwriters around. ‘You’re Number One’ is a bright, fast moving dancer with lots of sweet background harmony lifting Faith’s lead. Many of the Volcanos went on to form the core of the Trammps who went on to much success in the 70s.

The Vontastics (who took their name from Chicago’s black radio powerhouse WVON) recorded a couple of truly amazing 45s for a variety of Chitown labels (mostly St. Lawrence) between 1965 and 1969. ‘You Can Work It Out’ sports a stylish arrangement (dig those horns!) and some razor sharp vocals in a song that sounds like a tip of the hat to the Miracles ‘Shop Around’.

I first heard the Unifics a few years back when I scored a copy of their monumental 45 ‘It’s a Groovy World. A product of Washington, D.C.’s Howard University (like Roberta Flack and the Blackbyrds) the Unifics hit the charts a few times in 1968 and 1969, their biggest hit being ‘Court of Love’. They recorded some 45s and an excellent LP for the Kapp label under the guidance of songwriter and producer Guy Draper. The amazing ‘Which One Should I Choose’ was co-written by Draper, lead singer Al Johnson and yet another Howard alumni, the mighty Donny Hathaway (who also plays piano on the track).

The Formations were another Philadelphia group with a Northern Soul classic – ‘At the Top of the Stairs’ – to their credit. ‘Love’s Not Only For The Heart’ shows a harder edged side of the group that went on to perform and record as the Corner Boys (for Neptune), the Silent Majority (for Hot Wax) and Hot Ice (for Atlantic).

The next track is a personal favorite of mine. One of my earliest ‘cool’ Philly 45 scores, the Producers 45 (on Gamble and Huff’s short lived Huff Puff label) is a very solid two sider. ‘Love Is Amazing’ (the only tune in this mix with a female lead, provided by Mikki Farrow) is one of those records that should have been a substantial hit, yet never really (as far as I can tell) made a dent anywhere, even in Philly). It does have it’s partisans in the UK, but remains (unjustly) obscure.

The Parliaments, led by George Clinton are best known as the group that started the Parliament/Funkadelic empire, but recorded some of the finest soul 45s to come out of Detroit in the 60s. ‘Time’ (from 1968) was the upbeat flipside of the psyched out breakbeats of ‘Good Ole Music’.

The Four Sonics – another Detroit group – had connections to Nolan Strong and the Diablos. The unusual, bass-heavy vocals of ‘It Takes Two’ (not the Marvin Gaye song) appeared on the B-side of their epic version of Dusty Springfield’s ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’.

I recounted the tale of the Masqueraders in this space not too long ago, but I couldn’t very well do a mix dedicated to soul harmony without including their incredible ‘I Don’t Want Nobody To Lead Me On’. A group of Texans, who relocated first to Detroit, and then ended up recording their best stuff in Memphis, the Masqueraders ought to be much better known. This song was also covered by the Dynamics.

This edition of Funky16Corners Radio closes out with the only white group in the mix, Pennsylvania’s Magnificent Men. ‘Peace Of Mind’, written by lead singer Dave Bupp and trumpeter Buddy King, which hit the R&B charts in 1966 is an outstanding example of the influence of Curtis Mayfield specifically, and Chicago soul in general. Bupp has been quoted as saying that the song was written with Walter Jackson in mind, and it’s not hard to imagine the master balladeer doing a fine version of the song. The Magnificent Men were one of the few white soul harmony groups to have success with black audiences in the 60s, though there must have been something in the water in Pennsylvania, with folks like Len Barry, Billy Harner and the Temptones (featuring a young Daryl Hall).

As always, I hope you dig the sounds, and have yourselves a great Thanksgiving.

Peace

Larry

NOTE: This past weekend I installed software that allows users who view the blog via a handheld (iPhone, Android, Blackberry etc) to see a new theme that allows easier navigation in the small screen size. If you have one of these devices, check it out and let me know what you think.

Thanks – Larry

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Comments (17)

By Larry, November 18, 2010 3:54 pm

Toots and the Maytals

Listen/Download – The Maytals – 54-46 Was My Number

Greetings all.

I sit here at the heart of the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcasting Nerve Center, while the biting winds of autumn howl outside the window.

I was outside waiting for the littlest Corner to get off the bus, and I was reveling in the cool breeze, bright blue sky and wave upon wave of bright yellow and red leaves blowing around the neighborhood, digging the fall-ness of it all, though dreading that the leaves must eventually be removed, lest the neighbors soil themselves in a rage.

Such is life in the suburbs, where one side of the walls is wailing leaf blowers, and the other is heaps of warming vinyl, providing protection from the elements.

It behooves me to pause here and remind you all that this Friday night at 9PM you should all gather around your computers for warmth for another episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio. I promise you that if funk and soul is your bag, then you will not be disappointed (on account of that’s how we roll).

I will now return to our regularly scheduled post and unleash a killer record for your delectation.

It’s reggae time again (thanks go out to my youngest sister for the inspiration).

If you are not hep to the mighty Toots Hibbert and his faithful Maytals, then I have something for you that will surely be a nice surprise.

I’ll spare you my usual reggae = soul boilerplate*, since of all the soulful singers from that particular genre, none is more so than Toots Hibbert.

Back in the olden days, when I was first becoming wise to the sounds of Jamaica via the Two Tone-rs, the name Toots and the Maytals was one frequently invoked by those in the know. Their songs were covered by the likes of the Clash (Pressure Drop) and the Specials (Monkey Man) among others**.

My first exposure to their music was via comps of ska originals, but the record that really pulled me in was their 1980 live album.

Recorded at the Hammersmith Palais in London, ‘Toots and the Maytals Live’ is as ass-kicking a reggae album as you’re ever likely to hear, with the band at the top of their game, feeding off of the energy of an audience that was clearly in love with their music.

It was on that album that I first heard the song ’54-46 Was My Number’. The tale of Toots being framed and jailed for possession of the lowly collie weed***.

It is a remarkable bit of stomping, danceable skinhead reggae, one of Toots finest, and an all around masterpiece of Island soul.

The original version was released in 1969 on Beverlys (in Jamaica) and Pyramid and Trojan (in the UK), and as far as I can tell did not have a contemporary US release.

Which is where today’s 45 (credited only to the Maytals) comes into play.

Despite some diligent searching I have not been able to find out how this song (and no accompanying LP) got issued as a 45 by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell’s Shelter Records.

Founded in 1970, Shelter had a discography that tilted heavily in the direction of gospel-tinged roots rock (Russell) , blues (Freddy King), pop (Phoebe Snow’s ‘Poetry Man’, probably the label’s biggest hit) and by the mid-70s the proto-New Wave/power pop of Dwight Twilley and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

As far as I can tell, aside from this hard to find 45 (in 1972) , and a two-sider of Funky Kingston and Pressure Drop (which I’ve never seen a copy of) a year later, Shelter never released another reggae 45 or LP in their decade-plus history.

Though I haven’t turned up any specific info on how Toots and the Maytals hooked up with Shelter, my best guess is that is has something to do with Denny Cordell.

Cordell, who hailed from the UK got his start working for Chris Blackwell at Island Records in the mid-60s, and was certainly exposed to the sounds of Jamaica. Whether bringing Toots and the Maytals to Shelter was his idea of a way to test the waters for further reggae releases on the label (which never materialized) I can’t say for sure, but Island would release the ‘Funky Kingston’ LP (an amalgam of tracks released a few years earlier in Jamaica) in 1973, in the US.

Either way, it is indeed a mighty record, and as an object, an unusual footnote to the history of reggae in the US.

Dig it, and I will join you all again on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*Laid out in detail a number of times previously

** 54-46 Was My Number was later covered by Sublime

***Based no doubt on Hibbert’s actual arrest and jailing in 1966

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Comments (7)

By Larry, October 9, 2010 12:49 pm

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

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 23, 2010 3:33 pm

Jimmy Smith

Listen/Download – Jimmy Smith – The Cat

Greetings all.

I have so much stuff to do this weekend that I was going to forgo the regularly scheduled Friday post, but thought it might be a good idea to touch base with you all about the goings on here in Funky16Cornersville that I changed my mind.

First and foremost, I’ll be traveling down to Washington, DC this weekend with my records for a couple of DJ-type extravaganzas.

Saturday night I’ll be sharing the decks with my man DJ Birdman at Marvin (2007 14th Street, NW), and while we’re likely to get started on the mellower side of things, you know that as soon as the little hand starts pointing up the place will be banging, so if you dig delicious food, Belgian beer and the best in funk, soul and disco, you should fall by and join us.

The following day I’ll be doing a set at the DC Record Fair, and naturally also buying some records. I expect I’ll be running into all manner of interwebs friends, so stop by and say hi if you’re there.

Of course if you’re about on Friday night, say around 9PM you should head over to Viva internet radio for the Funky16Corners Radio Show for an hour of the best funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from original vinyl sources. The show will be then be archived (as an MP3) for download.

The track I bring you today is one of the truly great things that Jimmy Smith recorded during the 60s (maybe his best).

‘The Cat’ is a stunner, and that my friends is all I going to (or have time to) say this fine day (aside from the following bit of hyperbole…or is it???). It smokes from start to finish and is the bad-assiest of all the bad-ass, bad-assery ever committed via the intercession of Mr. Hammond’s mighty electric organ-o-phone.

Dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday with a whole new mix of Hammond organ goodness.

Have yourselves a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some puh-sike-a-dellia….

Comments (5)

By Larry, June 20, 2010 4:21 pm

Funky16Corners Radio v.86 – Elektrik

Playlist

I hope the new week finds you well.
I was just sitting here in the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcasting Nerve Center, when I realized that in all the new equipment/live mix/pledge drive hysteria, it had been something like three months since the last ‘regular’ Funky16Corners Radio mix, i.e. one with the drops and the accompanying zip file and the whole – as they used to say in the olden days – ‘shooting match’, and as a result, I felt that I should get my – as they still say today – shit together, dip into the digimatized stock and get something going.
So, I did.
Things being what they are, that being busy, both with the real world moves and the blog stuff, the old Funky16Corners mix schedule (as it was) has been stretched out somewhat. This has not however resulted in a lack of content, in fact the net result has been more music, with the Soul Club mixes (expect more of those from myself and guest selectors in the coming months) and the recent addition of archived/MP3 versions of the show I do weekly for Viva internet radio. As a result there’s probably more to listen to here than any sane person could digest, so dig in, slap some of the good stuff on your portable MP3 delivery device and stuff it in your ears (as time allows).
That said, I have whipped up a new mix, and I think you’ll dig it.
Funky16Corners Radio v.86 – Elektrik is both jazzy and funky, with lots of the good stuff you’ve come to expect as part of the Funky16Corners Radio experience, with a perfect vibe for a warm summer night.
Things get started with something that surprised even me, that being Stan Kenton’s funky, fusion-y take on Deodato’s reworking of Strauss’s ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’, cleverly titled ‘2002 Zarathustrevisited’ (Oh, Stan….), wherein the often overwrought master of heavily brassed West Coastery lets his sideburns grow in and hands the baton over to the younger cats in the band. Unlike similar sounds emitting from the Woody Herman organization, I have little faith that the man with his name on the bandstand had much to do with this one, and as a result, it is very groovy indeed.
Frank Wess works a very cool, vaguely trippy (heavily echoed) and somewhat funky sound with ‘Wessward Ho’. Alongside his most excellent flute work, there’s plenty of vibes, wah wah guitar and clavinet to being up the soulful quotient. If you can get your hands on a copy of the 1970 ‘Wess to Memphis’ album, do so, because unlike so many of his hard bop contemporaries, Wess was able to work very well in a more modern bag.
I’ve featured tracks by pianist Larry Willis in a couple of previous mixes, and for good reason too, since he was a master of a certain extra-hot, era-specific, electric piano sound. The tune ‘Out On the Coast’ take the soul jazz vibe and funks it up without drifting into the land of fusion. It’s serious enough to be jazz, but with enough get down in it to work as funk.
If you’re familiar with some of the more ethereal work of vibist Gary Burton you may find ‘Vibrafinger’ to be a somewhat jarring experience. Here, instead of the soothing chimes of the vibraphone, Burton offers up a heavily treated, electrified and distorted sound, accompanied by some heavy guitar and drums.
‘On This Site Shall Be Erected’ is an edited (by me) version of the first track on Gary McFarland’s concept album ‘America the Beautiful’. Thanks no doubt to the fact that he was co-owner of the label, his work for Skye Records is at times very far out, ranging from his soft and mellow vocalizing alongside his vibes, to heavier orchestral work, which, like this track, sometimes got funky. With guitar by Eric Gale and drums by Bernard Purdie, ‘On This Site Shall Be Erected’ moves from a brief avant garde section, directly into a few short minutes of big band funk.
Though you’re probably familiar with the Booker T and the MGs version of the movie theme ‘Hang’Em High’ (a Top 10 hit in 1968), you’ll probably dig Jimmy Smith’s long-form take on the tune from the ‘Black Smith’ album. You get to hear Jimmy work the Hammond alongside a piano (almost the whole time) and he does a predictably great job.
Next up is something a little spacey from the king of Chicago studio axemen, Mr. Phil Upchurch. ‘Elektrik Head’ from his 1969 LP ‘The Way I Feel’ sees Upchurch getting all up inside the echoplex, managing to be jazzy, soulful and passably psychedelic all at the same time.
Things mellow out a little bit – yet remain funky – with ‘Prairie Road’ by pianist Pete Jolly. A track from the largely improvised and wholly excellent ‘Seasons’ album, it features Jolly on the electric piano, and none other than Paul Humphrey on the drums. If you can score this on vinyl, good for you (it took me a while). If you can’t, grab it in reissue because it really has to be heard in its entirely. GREAT record.
Hampton Hawes was featured in the electric piano mix earlier this year. ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ is another fantastic cut from his 1972 ‘Universe’ album.
Neal Creque is another great, underrated musician and composer who is better known for his work as a sideman (with Mongo Santamaria among others) than for his solo work (probably because there’s not a lot of it…). ‘Jasmine’ is from his 1972 ‘Contrast’ album, and features some West Indian flavor mixed in with the funky jazz, sounding like a younger, hipper cousin to Sonny Rollins’ ‘St Thomas’.
Roy Meriwether recorded a fair amount of major label jazz sides, but it’s his private press stuff that is sweated the hardest by the collectors and beat diggers. His version of Eddie Harris’s ‘Mean Greens’ appeared on his Capitol LP ‘Soul Knight’. He takes the tune at a faster, more aggressive pace than Harris did on his OG.
This edition of the Funky16Corners Radio thang closes out with a very groovy track by the father of vocalese, Mr. Eddie Jefferson. I wish I could say I had a copy of the rare 45 of Jefferson’s version of Horace Silver’s ‘Psychedelic Sally’, but I’ll settle for the LP. Not very psychedelic, but quite funky, this sees Jefferson in a very modern bag.
I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back later in the week with something cool.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PPS – Make sure to fall by Iron Leg for a taste of epic art pop.

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Comments (0)

By Larry, June 10, 2010 4:11 pm

Greetings all.

Thanks to some unexpected and decidedly unwelcome crap that just crowbarred itself into my life, I spent the time I’d usually be writing, digimatizing et al, behind the wheel of the Funky16Cornersmobile. As a result the regularly scheduled Friday posts – here and over at Iron Leg – will be preempted.
Fortunately, I have to turn in my Viva Radio shows a week in advance, so the Funky16Corners Radio Show will go off this Friday night at 9PM EST as scheduled.
It’s a good one this week – if I say so myself – with a collection of reggae soul that I think you’ll dig.
Make sure you tune in via the interwebs, and if you can’t, either pick up the stream at Viva afterward, or wait until Saturday and I’ll have the episode archived here for download.
I should be back on Monday.
Until then….

Peace

Larry

PS If you haven’t done so already,now might be a good time to catch up with the F16C Soul Club and archived F16C Radio Show mixes…

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Comments (5)

By Larry, June 6, 2010 2:41 pm

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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PS Head over to Iron Leg for some psyche pop

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