Comments (5)

By Larry, January 18, 2017 11:46 am

Marching Music

Gladys Knight and the Pips – Just Walk In My Shoes (SOUL)
Jackie Verdell – Are You Ready For This (Decca)
Mary Love – Lay This Burden Down (Modern)
Tina Britt – The Real Thing (Eastern)
Barbara Banks – River of Tears (Veep)
Betty Everett – Getting Mighty Crowded (Veejay)
Royalettes – Out of Sight Out of Mind (MGM)
Theresa Lindsay – I’ll Bet You (Golden World)
Mary Wells – Can’t You See You’re Losing Me (Atco)
Marvelettes – I’ll Keep On Holding On (Tamla)
Apollas – Mr Creator (WB)
Bettye Lavette – I Feel Good All Over (Calla)
Bobbettes – Tighten Up Your Own Home (Mayhew)
Clydie King – ‘Bout Love (Lizard)
Dorothy Berry – Shindig City (Planetary)
Glories – Give Me My Freedom (Date)
Exciters – Blowing Up My Mind (RCA)
Helena Ferguson – My Terms (Compass)
Ikettes – Don’t Fee Sorry For Me (Modern)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)
Shirelles – Last Minute Miracle (Scepter)
Supremes – Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (Motown)
Aretha Franklin – Save Me (Atlantic)
Marva Whitney – Things Got To Get Better (Get Together) (King)
Jean Wells – With My Love And What You Got (Calla)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners – Marching Music MP3

Greetings all.

What you see before you is my small contribution to the Women’s March on Washington, this Saturday, January 21 2017.

This historic assembly will be the first of what I’m sure will be a long list of actions confronting the incoming administration (and Congress and the Senate) for its horrifying policies.

This Saturday, hundreds of thousands of women (and men) will gather in Washington, DC, and in cities all over the country in ‘sister’ marches to send a message that the rights of women must be respected.

The mix you see before you – Marching Music – is an hour of some of the best, hard charging, uplifting and inspirational female soul records, engineered to provide an emotional boost to the people in the streets.

There are a few empowerment anthems, but by and large I assembled the mix with the uplifting quality of the music in mind. These are all records that are at the very least dance floor anthems (by some of the great female voices of the classic soul era) , engineered to lift the listener, and hopefully they can provide a boost for marchers as well.

If you’re going one of the marches, slap it onto your phone or iPod, or if you’re supporting in another way (like my lovely wife who has been knitting ‘pussy hats’ for marchers non-stop) put it on and do your thing wherever you are.

I think you’ll find that while they’re not all ‘message’ songs, they all pack a lot of power into their grooves.

I wanted to get it up here early, since people who will be traveling will get a chance to pull down the ones and zeros before they hit the road.

So get out there and fight the power!

And always and in all ways,

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, January 17, 2017 12:24 pm

Lee Rogers

Listen/Download – Lee Rogers – Go Go Girl MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the middle of the week finds you well enough to get up outcha seat and dance, on account of what’s up.

Lee Rogers (nee Rogers Lee Caton) was a fairly prolific (on the 45RPM tip, anyway) Detroit soul singer with a catalog that stretched from the early 60s into the late 70s.

The tune I bring you today was released in 1966 on the D-Town label.

Rogers one and only hit had come the previous year when ‘I Want You To Have Everything’ made it into the R&B Top 20.

He never made another dent in the national charts, but the A-side of today’s selection, ‘I’m a Practical Guy’ was a regional hit in Detroit and the Great Lakes area in the summer of 1966.

Though that tune is a cracker, ‘Go Go Girl’ is the side for me.

Written by Detroit stalwarts Mike Hanks, Rudy Robinson and William Garrett, produced by Hanks and arranged by McKinley Jackson, ‘Go Go Girl’ is a hard-hitting dance floor stormer, with booming drums, solid guitar and bass and a horn section thar builds nicely.

Roger’s vocal moves between a smooth tenor and a reaching falsetto.

It’s not hard to imagine packed rooms of dancers, here in the US and over in the UK where Rogers’ 45s are sought after, getting down to this one.

‘Go Go Girl’ isn’t cheap, but it’s not going to put you in the poorhouse either, so if you dig it, and you want to make some people dance, go get yourself a copy for your playbox.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you tomorrow with something very special!

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 27, 2016 12:27 pm

Greetings all.

In continuation of our Christmas week ‘Best of’ grooves, I give you this selection of some of my favorite Northern Soul/soul dance mixes from the Funky16Corners Archives.

There are tons of storming dancers herein, so when you’re done wassailing, pull down the ones and zeroes and cut yourself a slice of rug.

And don’t forget to dig the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday on iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, Mixcloud and Funky16Corners.com

Dig it, and I’ll see you all next week.

Keep the faith

Larry

 
_____________________________________________________________________

Carl Carleton – Competition Ain’t Nothing (Backbeat)
The Tams – Shelter (Probe)
Ambassadors – I’m So Proud of My Baby (Atlantic)
Billy Butler – Boston Monkey (Okeh)
Billy Harner – I Struck It Rich (OR)
Robb Fortune – Crazy Feeling (Now)
Tony Clarke – Landslide (Chess)
Patti and the Emblems – Please Don’t Ever Leave Me (Kapp)
Pat Lundy – Soul and Nothing But the Blues (Columbia)
Felice Taylor – Under the Influence of Love (Mustang)
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore at Me (Revilot)
Jackie Lee – P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y (Mirwood)
Platters – With This Ring (Musicor)
James and Bobby Purify – The Last Piece of Love (Bell)
Baltimore and Ohio Marching Band – Condition Red (Jubilee)
JJ Barnes – Sad Day A’Coming (Revilot)
Stagemasters – Baby I’m Here Just To Love You (Slide)
Soul Twins – Quick Change Artist (Grapevine)
Paul Kelly – Chills and Fever (Dial)
Bob Brady and the Conchords – More More More of Your Love (Chariot)

Funky16Corners Presents: Condition Red

Ted Taylor – Love Is Like a Ramblin’ Rose (Okeh)
Stereos – I Feel Soul a Comin’ (Cadet)
Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers – I Can’t Turn You Loose (RCA)
Choker Campbell and his 16 Piece Band – Wild One (Motown)
Joe Jeffrey Group – My Pledge of Love (Wand)
The Contours – First I Look at the Purse (Gordy)
Derek Martin – Sly Girl (Tuba)
Exciters – Blowing Up My Mind (RCA)
Ferris Wheel – Number One Guy (Philips)
Carl Carlton – Hold On To What You Got (Big Beat)
Ella Fitzgerald – Get Ready (Reprise)
High Keys – Living a Lie (Verve)
Dobie Gray – Out On the Floor (Charger)
Ronnie Dyson – Fever (Columbia)
Shirelles – No Doubt About It (Scepter)
The Tams – Trouble Maker (ABC)
Garnet Mimms – Prove It To Me (UA)
Marvelle and the Blue Mats – Mellow Man (Dynamic Sound)
Billy Butler – Boston Monkey (Okeh)

Funky16Corners Presents: Out On the Floor

Danny White – Natural Soul Brother (SSS Intl)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – Dancing’s Alright (Tamla)
The Marvelows – I Do (ABC/Paramount)
Sugar Pie DeSanto – Go Go Power (Checker)
Tom Jones – Get Ready (Parrot)
Roy Lee Johnson – Boogaloo #3 (Josie)
Otis Redding – Love Man (Atlantic)
R. Dean Taylor – There’s a Ghost In My House (VIP)
Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels – Breakout (New Voice)
Lou Courtney – Me and You Doing the Boogaloo (Riverside)
The Rubaiyats – Omar Khayyam (Sansu)
Don Gardner – My Baby Likes to Boogaloo (Tru Glo Town)
Righteous Brothers Band – Rat Race (Verve)
Chris Clark – Love’s Gone Bad (Motown)
Syl Johnson – Come On and Sock It To Me (Twilight)
Fantastic Johnny C – (She’s) Some Kind of Wonderful (Phil LA of Soul)
Jackie Lee – The Shotgun and the Duck (Mirwood)
The Magnificent Men – I Got News (Capitol)
Wilson Pickett – Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Atlantic)
Wayne Cochran and the CC Riders – Goin’ Back to Miami (Mercury)

Funky16Corners Presents: Go Go Power

OV Wright – Love the Way You Love (Backbeat)
Billy Butler – Right Track (Okeh)
Lynne Randell – It’s a Hoe Down (Epic)
Thelma Jones – Stronger (Barry)
The Platters – Sweet Sweet Lovin’ (Musicor)
Christine Cooper – SOS (Heart In Distress) (Parkway)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)
Henry Lumpkin – Soul Is Taking Over (Buddah)
Barbara Banks – River of Tears (Veep)
Luther Ingram – If It’s All the Same To You (Hib)
Chuck Wood – Seven Days Is Too Long (Roulette)
Maurice and the Radiants – Baby You’ve Got It (Chess)
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore At Me (Revilot)
O’Jays – I Dig Your Act (Bell)

Funky16Corners Presents: Soulshake – Live at The Subway Soul Club

____________________________________________________________________________

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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, October 11, 2016 10:25 am

The Vibrations

Listen/Download – The Vibrations – Soul A-Go-Go MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get started, take a moment to head on over to Mixcloud (by clicking on the graphic below) and vote for the Funky16Corners Radio Show as best funk/soul radio show!

When prompted for an example of the show, just click on this link and select the address of the page  as an example.

Thanks very much, and now, on with the post….

________________________________________

Heart not started right?

Coffee not doing the trick?

Down in the dumps?

Well, my friends, prepare to get your wagon fixed, because the 45 I am about to lay on you is one of the pumpingest, slammingest, four on the (dance) floor moving, soul grooving, blood pressure elevating burners ever committed to wax.

The Vibrations are one o the truly great groups of the classic soul era, and have appeared here before (and will again).

Though they never had a lot of crossover success in the pop market, they did manage to make the R&B Top 40 half a dozen times between 1961 and 1968, making great records in Los Angeles, Chicago, and later on in Philadelphia.

‘Soul a Go Go’ was released in 1966, arranged by the great Teacho Wiltshire and produced by a cat named Manny Kellem who seems to have spent most of his time recording mainstream/adult pop by people like Mike Douglas, and Jane Morgan with the occasional soul or rock artist in the mix.

The song was written by Del Shahr (aka Vibrations member Carl Fisher, who wrote a bunch of amazing soul tunes), Ricky Castel and Roscoe Johnson.

Opening with a powerful drum roll, and joined by a blazing horn section, bass, and guitar, ‘Soul a Go Go’ is one of those records guaranteed to get people out of their seats and on to the dance floor.

The propulsive energy of the song is just about relentless and it kind of boggle my mind that it wasn’t a hit on the R&B or Pop charts (though the other side of the 45, a version of the Beatles ‘And I Love Her’ was a hit in Chicago.

It’s nothing less than a killer, and ought to have a home in the playbox of any self-respecting DJ.

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 6, 2016 11:00 am

The High Keys featuring Troy Keyes

Listen/Download – Troy Keyes – Love Explosions MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops a brand new episode each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subsribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via Stitcher and the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud or grab a download out of the archive here at Funky16Corners.

This week’s show is a very special edition of the podcast, about the New Orleans/L.A. Connection, in which a bunch of NOLA expats, including Mac Rebennack, Jessie Hill, Harold Battiste, Alvin Robinson and King Floyd head out to California in the mid-60s and worked on a grip of amazing records. It’s almost two full hours of music and information, so make sure to check it out.

_______________________________________________________

We end the week with a very groovy bit of stylish, Northern Soul by Troy Keyes.

Keyes is an interesting performer in that he goes back to the doowop era with the Velours, moves on into the classic soul era as the lead vocalist in the High Keys/Keyes (‘Living a Lie’ is a stone classic) who recorded for Atco and Verve between 1963 and 1966, and then went on to record under his own name.

The High Keys managed to record with both the duo of Bob Crewe and Charlie Calello (famous for working with the Four Seasons) who produced the group’s 1963 hit version of ‘Que Sera Sera’ and then George Kerr (who would also produce Troy Keyes solo 45s).

Though it has East Coast fingerprints all over it (Kerr, Richard Tee) ‘Love Explosions’ has the sound of a Detroit joint (specifically something out of the Four Tops oeuvre).

Opening with a female backing chorus, and waves of harp over a pulsing rhythm section, Keyes joins in, sounding like a more tightly wound Levi Stubbs.

The song (written by Kerr and Gerald Harris) has enough push for the dance floor, and a great, anthemic chorus.

Though the record made it into the Top 20 in a bunch of Mid-Atlantic/Northeast markets, it didn’t break through nationally.

It did however catch on with the soulies in the UK, where it was issued in 1968 and the reissued a year later to satisfy demand.

Keyes went on to have a local New York hit with ‘If I Had My Way’ in 1971, and has performed in the UK at Northern Soul shows.

I hope you dig the track, 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 20, 2016 10:08 am

Miss Delores Hall

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

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

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 8, 2016 11:09 am

Taj Mahal

Listen/Download – Taj Mahal – A Lot of Love MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove. You can (and should) subscribe in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud or grab yourself an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.

You all know that I am all about a groovy cover version, and especially when it comes from an unexpected source.

I have been a Taj Mahal fan since way back in the day, but always associated him with a more hippy/bluesy train of sound (if you will), from his early days with the Rising Sons, through his Woodstock-era sounds and beyond.

So, when I picked up an old CBS records loss-leader (so budget-y that it was released with two LPs jammed into a single sleeve?!?) and discovered Taj working it out on one of my fave soul tunes, Homer Banks’s ‘A Lot of Love’, I was stunned!.

The version in the LP was a longer (4:00) LP edit, but when I started looking on the intertubes for information, I discovered that there was also a much tighter 45 edit (2:44) that had a certain amount of popularity with the Northern Soul crowd.

I set myself a saved search, and before long the 45 popped up and I grabbed it for my playbox.

One of Taj Mahal’s greatest strengths (and also, oddly enough, a weakness of sorts) is that he was an able interpreter of all kinds of material. This is something that was for decades and essential talent in singers, but in the rock era kind of fell by the wayside.

He took full advantage of this talent over the years, and as as a result, his managed to avoid being pigeonholed, but also (unfortunately) avoided the charts.

‘A Lot of Love’ originally appeared on his 1968 LP ‘The Natch’l Blues’ which included traditional material like ‘The Cuckoo’ and ‘Corinna’ alongside soul material like ‘A Lot of Love’ and William Bell’s ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’.

While the longer, LP version of ‘A Lot of Love’ is excellent, the 45 edit is trimmed nicely to give it a lot more dance floor/jukebox appeal, thus its popularity with the soulies.

Aided by a tight band, including a couple of Leon Russell’s Okie homeboys, Jesse Ed Davis and Chuck Blackwell, Taj kicks up the tempo of the original, and delivers a very groovy vocal.

It’s a tasty bit of late 60s soul, and I dig it a lot.

I hope you do, too.

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, August 28, 2016 10:58 am

The Velvelettes

Listen/Download – The Velvelettes – These Things Will Keep Me Loving You MP3

Greetings all.

Writing and listening to music as much as I do, I often wonder why some groups are considered ‘major’ and others are not.

Sometimes, it’s obvious issues of quality that disqualify a group, but often it’s less objective criteria.

When you consider a group like the Velvelettes, who had three R&B hits (one a year for 1964, 1965 and 1966) only one of which grazed the Top 20, most people – at least casual listeners – would not think of including them alongside much better known acts.

However, to soul fans, who are willing to dig a little deeper and familiarize themselves with slightly less obvious facts (like who produced a record, for instance) the Velvelettes are a group worth reconsidering.

They made seven 45s between 1963 and 1966, almost all classics, and for most of that time were one of the early examples of the genius of Norman Whitfield.

Whitfield wrote and produced all but their first and last singles, and they remain among the finest things to come out of the Motown hit factory in its prime.

The record I bring you today was the group’s swan song, and though Whitfield was no longer involved, the Velvelettes were in good hands, indeed.
‘These Things Will Keep Me Loving You’ failed to chart here in the US, but it was a favorite of the soulies in the UK, where it grazed the Top 40 in 1966 and then returned to it in 1971 (another one of those records that the Northern Soul explosion brought back into the charts).

Written by Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol and Sylvia Moy (and produced by Fuqua and Bristol), ‘These Things Will Keep Me Loving You’ is one of those records whose absence from the charts is positively mind-boggling.

It is beautifully written, performed, arranged and produced, highly danceable, and with enough hooks to make an east crossover into the Pop charts, yet, bizarrely, it did not.

I always attribute these incidents to the veritable deluge of high quality music entering the market in the mid-60s, yet in this case it is especially curious and galling.

Had the Velvelettes had the opportunity to remain with Whitfield, and had lead vocalist Cal Gill not decided to leave music (at least temporarily) it’s possible that we’d be talking about the group in the same breath as the Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas (and certainly their records are at least as good as both) instead of trying to bolster their reputation.

Though their 45s aren’t incredibly hard to find, they’re not cheap, either, and this one can be a little more expensive than most. That said, all of their work is easy to find in reissue, and is, as described above, indispensable.

So dig it, 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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 10, 2016 1:38 pm

Sandy Wynns aka Edna Wright

Listen/Download -Sandy Wynns – Love Belongs To Everyone MP3

Greetings all.

One of my favorite things, is when I start to research a record in one place and find myself carried away by the current in a completely different direction.

I first heard of Sandy Wynns years ago, via her Northern Soul fave ‘A Touch of Venus’. It is a storming, stylish number written and produced by West Coast pop genius Ed Cobb (who also made some beautiful 45s with Gloria Jones).

I picked up the 45 you see before you today on the strength of that record, and I was not disappointed.

So when I pulled it out of the box to write up here on the blog, I figured I was just going to rave about another obscure but wonderful 45 and that – as they say – would be that.

Then I started looking for information and the story became a lot more interesting.

‘Sandy Wynns’ as it turns out was a pseudonym for a Los Angeles singer named Edna Wright.

Edna Wright, was the sister of none other than Darlene Love. She recorded alongside Love in the Crystals and the Blossoms, and then a few years after putting the ‘Sandy Wynns’ name to rest, went on to be the lead vocalist in the Honey Cone!

Wright recorded a handful of 45s for west coast labels like Champion and Canterbury between 1964 and 1967.

‘Love Belongs To Everyone’ was her follow-up to ‘A Touch of Venus’ in 1964 and it takes the promise of that record to another level entirely.

The arrangement (by Lincoln Mayorga) is a stunner, with a relentless rhythm section led by a chiming rhythm guitar, and subtly applied horns moving things along at a brisk place. The song is filled with hooks and Wynns/Wright’s vocal is just beautiful.

Cobb’s production is fantastic, letting the instrumental power come through without getting in the way of Wynns’ voice.

The flipside, ‘Yes I Really Love You’ is very cool too, with a repeated refrain that sounds like it was lifted from the backing vocals to the Supremes ‘Come See About Me’.

It really boggles the mind that a record like this wasn’t a hit. You look at someone like Cobb, who followed this in 1965 with both ‘Tainted Love’ and ‘Heartbeat’ for Gloria Jones, both of a similar high quality, and both met with the same commercial indifference. Fortunately, fame would catch up with Wright with the Honey Cone, who would have nine R&B and Pop hits between 1969 and 1972.

It’s a great record, and I hope you dig it as much as I do.

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.

Comments (2)

By Larry, June 19, 2016 11:25 am

Larry Grogan – Kings

Artistics – So Much Love In My Heart (Okeh)
Millionaires – A Rather Hip Shing (Philips)
Volcanos- You’re Number One (Arctic)
Sims Twins – A Losing Battle (Omen)
Spirit of St Louis – Wait Until Tomorrow (Philips)
Eddie Purrell – The Spoiler (Volt)
The Spellbinders – A Little On the Blue Side (Columbia)
Bobby Bland – Shoes (Duke)
Bull and the Matadors – Move With the Groove (Toddlin’ Town)
Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers – It’s Growing (Gordy)
Billy Leonard – Tell Me Do You Love Me (Fairmount)
George Guess – No Matter What (Pearl Harbor)
Olympics – Baby Do the Philly Dog (Mirwood)
Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers – I’m Gonna Give Her All the Love I Got (Wand)
Marketts – Stirrin’ Up Some Soul (WB)
Trade Martin – Moanin’ (RCA)
Bobby Newton – Do the Whip (Mercury)
The Groovers – I Got To Go Now (Up On the Floor) (Groovy)

Listen/Download – Larry Grogan – Kings 103MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all 

Welcome back to the Funky16Corners 2016, Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

Today I give you the final mix of this year’s Allnighter, the complementary/second half of this years mix from yours truly, ‘Kings’.

This is an hour of the finest male soul 45s – all dancers – from the classic era. You get soul from Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Los Angeles, St Louis, Memphis and Houston, all with the sounds to put some pep in your step.

Make sure to spin this one with the ‘Queens’ mix posted on 6/5 for the full effect.

I want to thank all the selectors that participated this year for putting together these great mixes, as well as everyone that donated.

If you haven’t donated, please click on the Paypal link and drop something in the bucket to help cover the 2016 operating costs.

Don’t forget to click that Paypal button and donate, and we’ll be back later in the week with some more of the soul and funk goodness you’ve come to expect from Funky16Corners!

___________________________

Your donations help to keep Funky16Corners up and running, with the blog, Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast and hundreds of hours of archived mixes.

Everyone that donates will get the new 2016 Funky16Corners badge and bumpersticker, with which you can adorn the garment and flat surface of your choosing.

Also, everyone that donates will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of the new 45 by the M-Tet!

So pull down the ones and zeros, dig deep and Keep the Faith!

___________________________

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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, June 5, 2016 11:33 am

Funky16Corners Presents: Queens
Vicki Gomez – Boys Are a Dime a Dozen (ABC/Paramount)
Rita and the Tiaras – Gone With the Wind Is My Love (Dore)
Apollas – Mr Creator (WB)
Clara Ward – The Right Track (Verve)
Gloria Jones – Heartbeat Pt1 (Uptown)
Sandy Wynns – Love Belongs To Everyone (Champion)
Tina Britt – The Real Thing (Eastern)
Brenda Lee – Dancing In the Street (Decca)
Candy and the Kisses – Keep On Searching (Scepter)
Dorothy Berry – Shindig City (Planetary)
Marie Queenie Lyons – Drown In My Own Tears (Deluxe)
Mirettes – Now That I Found You Baby (Mirwood)
Bobbettes – Tighten Up Your Own Home (Mayhew)
Funky Sisters – Soul Woman (Aurora)
Ella Fitzgerald – These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ (Salle)
Sari and the Shalimars – No Reason To Doubt My Love (Veep)
Judy Clay – Sister Pitiful (Atlantic)
Lesley Gore – Take Good Care (Of My Heart) (Mercury)
Barry St John – Cry Like a Baby (GRT)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents: Queens 86MB Mixed MP3

Greetings all and welcome to the 2016 Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive!

This is the time of year where I and some of the finest selectors I know create some brand new mixes and post them here in the hope that you will all show your appreciation by clicking on the Paypal link and tossing something into the hat to help cover our yearly operating budget. This is the 10th Anniversary of the Pledge Drive and the 6th year of the Allnighter format.

This year’s line-up includes mixes from Asbury Park 45 sessions alums DJ Prestige, DJ Prime Mundo, DJ Bluewater, Vincent the Soul Chef, my man in the UK Ben Gibson, Tarik Thornton, HeavySoulBrutha Dave B, Chris Lujan of the M-Tet and the Dirty Dirty Podcast, DJ RP of Funkdefy Ohio and yours truly book-ending the whole thing.

The mixes this year are uniformly excellent, with sounds ranging from funk 45s, to Northern Soul, sweet soul, reggae, modern funk instros, soul jazz and everything in between.

We’ll be posting a mix each weekday for the next few weeks.

___________________________

Your donations help to keep Funky16Corners up and running, with the blog, Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast and hundreds of hours of archived mixes.

Everyone that donates will get the new 2016 Funky16Corners badge and bumper sticker, with which you can adorn the garment and flat surface of your choosing.

So pull down the ones and zeros, dig deep and Keep the Faith!

__________________________________________________________________

We’re going to get things started (and eventually finished) with a two-part mix by yours truly, entitled Queens & Kings. These are each an hour long and feature an hour of danceable soul, first by the ladies, and then by the fellas.
I’ve picked up a lot of outstanding stuff in the past year, including some of my personal Northern Soul grails, a couple of unexpected things (from people you wouldn’t expect, naturally) and lots of other groovy sounds!

So dig it, and we’ll be back tomorrow with DJ Prime Mundo!

___________________________

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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, May 22, 2016 11:32 am

The Apollas

Listen/Download – The Apollas – Mr Creator MP3

Greetings all.

I was driving around this past week, working my way through one of a couple of huge Northern Soul playlists I have stacked up in the iPod, and found myself replaying today’s selection several times.

The Apollas are one of those soul groups that despite laying down a collection of demonstrably amazing 45s, were met with utter indifference on the charts.

Composed of three singers – Leola Jiles, Ella Jamerson and Dorothy Ramsey – the Apollas worked for a short time in New York with Lieber and Stoller before moving on to do most of their recording for Loma and Warner Brothers out on the West Coast.

The bulk of their 45s were produced by Dick Glasser, and arranged by cats like HB Barnum and Gene Page.

Today’s 45 is – at least in my opinion – the finest thing they ever did, and that has a lot to do with the fact that the song in question was penned by no less a duo than Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson.

‘Mr Creator’ was released in early 1967, and though it made little to no impact on its release, it went on to be a huge favorite in the soul clubs of the UK.

The record is in many ways the perfect intersection of talents, with stellar vocals by the Apollas, booming production by Glasser, a punchy, danceable arrangement by HB Barnum (dig the way the horns and vibes come in and out of the mix) and a great, hook filled tune by Ashford and Simpson.

As with any great Northern Soul anthem, “Mr Creator’ is a masterpiece of dynamic/daramatic shifts. The way the song lifts at the bridge (around 1:05) and then again when the horns come in at around 1:35 is a thing to behold.

It kind of boggles the mind that a record this perfect went nowhere. The Apollas never made the R&B charts, and as far as I can tell they didn’t find any regional Pop or R&B success either. They were lucky enough to have access to great material and a dedicated producer, and fortunately soul fans have embraced them retroactively.

Their records are now in demand, and I’m lucky that I was able to score a copy that plays well in spite of it’s less than stellar visual condition.

I hope you dig it, 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.