Comments (2)

By Larry, January 31, 2016 11:45 am

The Monitors

Listen/Download – The Monitors – Number One In Your Heart MP3

Greetings all.

This one’ll get your heart started!

A couple of years ago I was listening to my man Mr Finewine on the mighty Downtown Soulville radio show and he played today’s selection, once again adding to the length of my want list.

Previous to the occasion, I only knew of the Monitors in passing, having seen them listed in discographies of Motown’s VIP subsidiary, alongside artists like Chris Clark and the Velvelettes.

The Monitors recorded a handful of 45s and an LP for VIP between 1965 and 1968, eventually moving on to Buddah for one more release.

Featuring John Fagin, Sandra Fagin, Warren Harris and Richard Street (who would eventually go on to join the Temptations), the Monitors had a couple of minor R&B hits, making it into the Top 40 with ‘Say You’ in 1966, and the A-side of this particular 45, ‘Greetings (This is Uncle Sam)’ grazing the Top 20 later the same year.

When I discovered that ‘Greetings..’ had charted I was shocked. It was certainly topical, and a novelty, but nowhere near as powerful as today’s selection.

‘Number One In Your Heart’, written by Steve Mancha (under his real name, Clyde Wilson) and Wilbur Jackson, and produced by Harvey Fuqua, is a fast moving, hook-laden dance floor killer.

The arrangement is fantastic, and it kind of blows my mind that it wasn’t a hit.

A version of the Monitors was reassembled by UK soul guru Ian Levine and recorded an LP in the late 80s.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, January 24, 2016 11:51 am

The Volcanos

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

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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 (4)

By Larry, January 17, 2016 10:57 am

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

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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 (4)

By Larry, January 3, 2016 12:57 pm

The reunited Velvet Hammer!

Listen/Download – Velvet Hammer – Happy MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you well.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 29, 2015 10:40 am

Listen/Download – Righteous Brothers Band – Rat Race MP3

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 1, 2015 12:17 pm

The Shirelles

Listen/Download – The Shirelles – No Doubt About It MP3

Greetings all.

I should start things off today by letting you know that my inaugural episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show for SoulGuyRadio.com is up and ready to stream or download at their site (I won’t be posting it to iTunes until the end of the week).

Make sure you check it out, and the other great shows in the Soul Guy Radio line-up as well.

______________________________________________________________________

The middle of the week is here, and in furtherance of getting us all over the hump and sliding downhill into the weekend, I thought I’d whip something sweet and upbeat on you.

The Shirelles are one of the more soulful giants of the girl group era, having recorded a grip of certified classics (‘Baby It’s You’ and ‘Boys’ both having been covered by the Beatles).

I featured the A-side of this particular 45, the epic, Northern Soul classic ‘Last Minute Miracle’ back in 2012.

Where as that tune is fairly hard-charging, with a spectacular, lifting chorus, today’s selection is a little bit more relaxed, with a slightly sweeter feel.

Written by Luther Dixon and Kenny Hollon and arranged by Richard Tee, ‘No Doubt About It’ is fast moving, with some great accents (especially where the piano and glockenspiel double each other), a pulsing bass line, well-applied horns and wonderful harmony vocals by the Shirelles.

Despite the fact that both sides of the 45 were excellent and filled with hooks, only ‘Last Minute Miracle’ got any airplay at all, and even then only in a few regional markets.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, November 1, 2015 1:50 pm

Listen/Download – Robert Walker and the Soul Strings – Stick To Me MP3

Greetings all.

How about we get the week started with some Detroit-manufactured Northern Soul?

If you checked out the ‘Funky16Corners: All Strung Out’ mix a few years back you may already be familiar with today’s selection.

Robert Walker and the Soul Strings made exactly one 45, ‘Stick to Me’ b/w ‘The Blizzard’ in 1967.

Though I have no definitive information, all available clues (especially the presence of arranger Ernie Wilkins) point to this being a Motor City 45.

I haven’t been able to track down any information on Robert Walker. He may very well be the guy that did some writing for Motown, and I’m guessing (due to the billing) that he may be the vocalist on ‘The Blizzard’.

‘Stick to Me’, co-written by Walker and Flery Bursey (who recorded for the Sidra label), is one of those instrumentals that sounds like it was engineered specifically for Northern Soul dance floors (even though there were none when it was made), from the dramatic, plucked bass (and periodic breaks throughout the record) and the storming, string-laden sections for the dancers.

The record did become a favorite at the Wigan Casino (among other NS venues) and is still in demand today. It can be kind of pricey, but I grabbed mine on the cheap a few years back, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 20, 2015 11:44 am

Homer Banks

Listen/Download – Homer Banks – A Lot of Love

Greetings all.

The track I bring to you today is like Monday’s tune, a precursor to (if not an outright OG) of one of the big tunes of the British Invasion.

Homer Banks was both a fine songwriter, and an excellent (if underappreciated) soul singer.

Banks recorded a string of brilliant Memphis-based 45s for Minit between 1966 and 1968, all the while writing for other artists, many in the Stax organization.

If you give a listen to any of the records that banks made under his own name, it leaves you shaking your head, wondering how he wasn’t a success on his own (and why Jim Stewart never signed him to his own deal at Stax).

Banks had a high, flexible tenor that reminds me of a lighter version of Sam Moore (which is interesting since Banks co-wrote ‘I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down’ for Sam and Dave), able to soar on ballads but with enough grit to deliver harder edged material.

‘A Lot of Love’ (co-written with Deanie Parker) was the A-side of Banks’ first Minit 45 in 1966 (he had already recorded a pair of 45s for the small, Memphis-based Genie label) and while it wasn’t a hit, it did make it over to the UK where a young cat by the name of Steve Winwood heard it and lifted its basic riff, reworking it into ‘Gimme Some Lovin’, a huge hit in the US and the UK, and ultimately a much better-known record than Banks OG.

I’m here to tell you (though your ears ought to be able to figure it out on their own) that while ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ is a classic, ‘A Lot of Love’ is in the end a much better record, with an outstanding lead vocal by Banks, and a fine arrangement with enough kick for the dance floor.

Oddly enough, Banks would be ripped off (by proxy) again, when Flavor (who may or may not have been aware of ‘A Lot of Love’) re-ripped the tune as ‘Sally Had a Party’, which is also an amazing record.

Homer Banks went on to write/cowrite a number of hits, including Luther Ingram’s smash ‘If Loving You is Wrong (I Don’t Want To be Right)’, and would hit the charts himself in a duo with Carl Hampton in 1977 with ‘I’m Gonna Have To Tell Her’.

Banks passed away in 2001 from cancer.

All of Banks’ Minit 45s are excellent and worth picking up when you can find them.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 15, 2015 12:02 pm

The Younghearts

Listen/Download – New Young Hearts – A Little Togetherness MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is finally here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We come to you each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. If you can’t be there at airtime you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app or grab yourself an MP3 right here at the blog.

I wanted to close out the week with a bang, so I dipped into my Northern box and pulled out one of my all-time favorites.

The Young Hearts (Younghearts, New Young Hearts) were together for about a decade, releasing records from 1967 to 1977 for a variety of labels like Canterbury, Pick A Hit, Minit, Zea and 20th Century.

The LA-based group, which recorded under the aegis of songwriter/producer Bobby Sanders, hit the R&B charts a number of times between 1968 and 1975, but they are best remembered for their 1967 record, ‘A Little Togetherness’ which became a Northern Soul classic.

The song/record has an interesting history. It was originally recorded and released on the Canterbury label in 1967. The Younghearts went on to record several singles and an album for Minit in 1968, which included a re-recorded, slowed down version of ‘A Little Togetherness’ (as well as a new version of the other big Northern 45 on Canterbury, the Tempos ‘Countdown (Here I Come)’).

Sometime after the Minit recordings, Sanders and the original Younghearts split, with the producer putting together a new group, the New Young Hearts. It was under this name that the 45 you see before you today was released, the catch being, that even though Sanders was using a new name, the version of ‘A Little Togetherness’ was the exact same version that was released on Canterbury three years before!

There’s even another New Young Hearts 45 of ‘A Little Togetherness’, released on the Zea label in 1971, but I can’t say for sure if it’s the same track or a rerecording.

That said, one listen to ‘A Little Togetherness’ will instantly reveal why it became an anthem on the Northern scene.

Opening with chiming guitar and piano, the song soon takes off into the stratosphere with soaring lead and backing vocals and a relentless four-on-the-floor dance beat. The falsetto lead vocal floats along on a brilliant, hook-filled melody, and the when the chorus hits the record shoots to another level entirely.

Like the best Northern Soul, ‘A Little Togetherness’ is packed with drama and dynamic tension that lifts the dancers.

It’s one of those records that I want to play over and over again.

As it is, if you want to get yourself a copy of this work of soulful genius, the Soultown version of ‘A Little Togetherness’ isn’t cheap, but it is usually cheaper than the Canterbury issue, which can go for a couple of hundred dollars.

Until you get that lucky, you can grab yourself this recording and put it on repeat.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, September 20, 2015 10:42 am

Jo Armstead

Listen/Download – Jo Armstead – I Feel An Urge Coming On MP3

Greetings all.

In furtherance of the idea that one really ought to start the week off with a solid kick in the pants, I bring you this fiery biscuit from the discography of the mighty Jo Armstead.

Miss Armstead has appeared in this space before, with single tracks, in mixes and in many references to her talents as a songwriter.

Getting her start in the ranks of the Ikettes (she’s on ‘I’m Blue’), Armstead went on to record some very tasty singles for her own Giant label, and working as a songsmith, often in collaborations with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson.

The song I bring you today is perhaps her best loved entry in the Northern Soul sweepstakes.

Released in 1967, ‘I Feel an Urge Coming On’ was a favorite on UK dance floors in haunts like the Golden Torch and the Blackpool Mecca.

It is a fast moving, tuneful groover (arranged by Mike Terry) with a powerful vocal by Armstead, piano (high in the mix), rhythm guitar and tastefully applied strings (as in just enough for added drama, but not so much that things ever get syrupy).

Armstead (who ran Giant with her husband Mel Collins) would release five singles on the label – all killers – in 1967 and 1968.

She went on to write or cowrite tunes for a veritable who’s who of 1960s soul and R&B, including Chuck Jackson and Maxine Brown, Marie Knight, Ray Charles, Betty Everett, the Apollas, Candy and the Kisses and many, many more.

Though she is loved by soulies the world over, she ought to be much better known.

So dig in (and dance if you are so inclined) and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 29, 2015 11:18 am

Funky16Corners Presents Soul Party Vol 2 – Right Track
Jones and Blumenberg – The Right Track (Volt)
Fontella Bass – Recovery (Checker)
Frankie Valli – You’re Gonna Hurt Yourself (Smash)
Grover Mitchell with St John and the Cardinals – Take Your Time and Love Me (Josie)
Edwin Starr – I Have Faith In You Baby (Ric-Tic)
Spyder Turner – Can’t Make It Anymore (MGM)
Otis Leavill – Boomerang (Blue Rock)
Charlie McCoy and the Escorts – Screamin’ Shoutin’ Beggin’ Pleadin’ (Monument)
Incredibles – I Can’t Get Over Losing Your Love (Audio Arts)
Mirettes – He’s Alright With Me (Mirwood)
The Intruders – You Better Check Yourself (Gamble)
Dee Dee Warwick – Monday Monday (Mercury)
Corvairs – Ain’t No Sole In These Old Shoes (Columbia)
Bobby Paris – Per-Son-Nal-Ly (Tetragrammaton)
Danny Wagner – I Lost a True Love (Imperial)
Walter Scott and the Kapers – Brand New Girl (Ivanhoe)
RB Hudmon – Yo Yo (A&M)
Duke Browner – Crying Over You (Impact)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners – Soul Party Vol2 – Right Track

Greetings all!

Today I bring the final mix in the 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

Funky16Corners Presents: Soul Party Vol2 is the second have of a Northern Soul extravaganza, filled from end to end with floor-filling stompers!

I hope you all have dug this years set of mixes, and I’d like to send out a sincere ‘Thanks!’ to all the DJs that contributed mixes, and to all the readers/listeners who took the time to donate to help keep Funky16Corners up and running.

_________________________________________________

And now for some Big News!

The good folks at Secret Stash Records have sent along some very groovy promos as incentives for you good folks to donate to the 2015 Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

We have two pairs of two 2-record sets comprised of rare and unreleased material from the legendary Chicago soul labels Mar-V-Lus and One-Derful Records!

At the end of next week I will randomly select two winners from the list of this year’s donors to receive these incredible prizes. All you need to do (unless you’ve already kicked in, in which case you’re already eligible) is click on the Paypal button and donate at least $5.00USD to be entered for a chance to win.

All the names will go into a hat and one of the little Corners will select the winners, who will be announced in this space as well as notified via e-mail.

So get to clicking!

___________________________________________________

Normal blogging will resume later this week.

Everyone that donates will get the 2015 premiums, including the new badge and a bumper sticker!

See you on Monday.

Keep the Faith

– Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, June 11, 2015 10:58 am

The Cooperettes

Listen/Download – The Cooperettes – Everything’s Wrong

Greetings all.

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

____________________________________________________________________

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

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

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

So get your ears ready!

____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep the faith

Larry

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.