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By Larry, October 29, 2012 11:30 am

Go Go Girls!

Listen/Download Gentleman June Gardner – It’s Gonna Rain

Greetings all

I come to you from deep inside the storm, as Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Whatever Sandy beats down upon us with buckets of rain and howling winds (which are guaranteed to get a lot more howly as the day progresses).

I figured I ought to get up off of the couch and blog something before the electricity goes bye bye.

I was rifling through the stacks looking for my copy of Dave Baby Cortez’s ‘Hurricane’ (which I found, and just reposted, so get it while it’s hot) but happened upon the record you see before you first.

It was as of the hand of fate took a second out of its busy day to offer up one of the all time great soul instrumentals.

‘It’s Gonna Rain’ by Gentleman June Gardner is right up there in my Top 10 instrumental soul 45s. In fact I was shocked that’s I’d never blogged it before!

I first heard it many years ago on an old Charly comp of New Orleans soul.

The record you see before you was the first copy of the song I got on wax. Oddly enough in an Australian pressing of Gentleman June’s LP (released on Emarcy here in the US).

I have since then grabbed the US LP and 45 (can’t have to many copies of a great record!), but I keep wondering how this record got released in Australia (I liken it to the NZ pressing of the 13th Floor Elevators ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’).

Gardner was a New Orleans based drummer and bandleader who recorded great music inside and outside that city (he also worked with the mighty Sam Cooke).

The extra groovy thing about this one – which I didn’t discover until I’d had it for a few years – is that it is a cover of a tune by Sonny and Cher!

The OG, which was released on the flip-side of ‘I Got You Babe’ is a garage-au-go-go cruncher and probably the most surprising thing in the S&C discography.

Though I don’t know this for sure, my suspicion has long been that Gardner was hepped to the tune by his NOLA homeboy Harold Battiste, who was working out on the coast as musical director for Mr. & Mrs. Bono.

‘It’s Gonna Rain’ is a certified soul stomper that’ll have you out of your seat and twisting before you know it.

It’s the perfect antidote to this bitch of a storm that’s sitting on top of us right now (and promises to get a lot worse before it’s over).

Keep your fingers crossed that those of us on the Eastern seaboard make it through Sandy in one piece (or at least as few pieces as possible).

I’ll see you all tomorrow.

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).

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, October 28, 2012 12:42 pm

Jackie Shane on ‘Night Train’

Listen/Download – Jackie Shane – Any Other Way

Greetings all

Welcome to another week here at the home of digital soul.

We are under threat of what promises to be a nasty storm. Our hatches are battened, our larders filled with supplies, so keep your fingers crossed that the folks here on the East Coast make it to the other side of this one intact.

The tune I ring you today is one of those great discoveries that happens when you flip over a record expecting nothing and realize that what you’re hearing is the real “top” side of the disc.

If memory serves, my initial encounter with the story of Jackie Shane was a lucky accident.

Before I was fortunate enough to pick up the record you see before you today, I had only heard her voice via a single, blurry performance clip from the TV show ‘Night Train’.

Shane was, during the 1960s a popular club singer and recording artist, who was an out, gay/trans man who lived and performed as a woman.

She was nothing if not enigmatic.

Born and raised in Nashville, but with the bulk of her career spent North of the border in Canada, Shane had a life seemingly lifted from a screenplay.

Starting in the early 60s Shane recorded and performed R&B and soul based out of Toronto, CA . She layed down sides for a few different labels, often backed by Frank Motley (also an American) and the Hitchhikers (who went on to record some sought after funk records).

Shane performed in drag – though what little biographical information I’ve been able to turn up suggests that this was more than a drag persona, leaning more in the direction of a full time transgender life. That she was also openly gay (or as open as the times allowed) was – as my friend Jason Stone aka the Stepfather of Soul said in a 2007 post – unusual, but not unheard of, considering the careers of Little Richard, Esquerita and Sylvester.

Her cover of William Bell’s 1962 hit ‘Any Other Way’ – a significant Canadian hit, almost reaching Number One – was a fairly dramatic re-casting of the original.

Shane’s delivers the song’s lyrics – full of regret – in a much more melancholic setting. Where Bell’s approach is aggressive and upbeat (at least as far as the tempo is concerned) Shane’s is almost elegiac.

Though she delivers the song in its original gender, it’s hard not to read something into it (and I’m hardly the first to make note of this) when Shane sings:

Tell her that I’m happy
Tell her that I’m gay
Tell her I wouldn’t have it any other way

…the line seems to take on more meaning.

I initially grabbed this record for the version of ‘Sticks and Stones’ on the flip, but soon fell in love with this cut.

Shane’s discography is spare. Her 1963 recording of ‘In My Tenement’ (recorded a year before Roosevelt Grier’s version) is sought after by soul fans, as is a fantastic live record, which, though dated “Live ‘63” on the cover was clearly recorded a few years later, since it includes covers of songs that wouldn’t be released until 1966.

Once you’ve listened to her relatively small – yet undeniably powerful – catalog, it becomes obvious that Shane was a versatile and dynamic vocalist and performer.

She was a powerful soul shouter, but was also capable of something approaching fragility when working a ballad.

The cool thing is, though Shane’s records run from moderately rare right on into wallet-wrecking hen’s teethery, you can go on iTunes and grab a fairly comprehensive collection of her 45s and the ‘Live ‘63’ album for about six bucks each! I assure you in advance that this will be money well spent.

The singles are all excellent, and the live album is a revelation.

Shane was a bold, uncompromising stage performer, strong in voice and persona, and the Hitchhikers were an extra-tight backing band.

The album deserves to be much better known, and is worth having if only for the extended monologue during her cover of Barrett Strong’s ‘Money’.

Apparently Shane was still alive (though seemingly inactive as a performer) as late as 2010, having returned to her birthplace of Nashville, TN.

Make sure you check out the CBC radio documentary about Jackie Shane ‘I Got Mine: The Story of Jackie Shane’ over at Soundcloud.

I hope you dig the record, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday with some Halloween goodness.

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).

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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, October 25, 2012 12:14 pm

Chris Farlowe

Listen/Download Chris Farlowe – We’re Doing Fine

Greetings all

The end of another week has finally arrived, and I have some very groovy mod soul lined up for you today.

But first, I simply must remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. As always, if you are unable to join us at the time of broadcast, you can pick up the shows by subscribing as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 download right here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a very recent acquisition, that came as a very nice surprise.

I have known (some of) the music of Chris Farlowe since back in the mod/garage days of yore (three decades past).

The biggie – the one that got this album released here in the States – was his 1966 cover of the Rolling Stones ‘Out of Time’. Farlowe’s version was – at least in my opinion – far superior to the original, and, thanks to the fact that a lot of folks in the UK agreed, it was a Number One hit in that country in June of 1966.

Along with his band the Thunderbirds (which when he recorded ‘Paint It Farlowe’ included both Albert Lee and Carl Palmer) Farlowe started out recording blues, R&B and soul in the early 60s as part of the Mod scene.

Farlowe would eventually be signed to the Immediate label, where he would record at least two albums and a grip of singles, a half dozen of which would hit the UK charts in 1966 and 1967.

The ‘Paint It Farlowe’ LP – released in the UK, with additional tracks as ‘The Art of Chris Farlowe’ – was produced by no less a light than Mick Jagger.

The album was packed with interesting material, including a number of covers of Rolling Stones, Small Faces and Twice as Much tunes, as well as some very cool soul material.

Farlowe had an unusual voice, especially in the far reaches of his range, which was perfectly suited for rough edged R&B material.

‘Paint It Farlowe’ includes his versions of tunes by American artists like the Four Tops, Jimmy Ruffin, Garnet Mimms and with the tune I bring you today, Dee Dee Warwick.

The younger sister of Dionne, Dee Dee had a respectable chart career between 1965 and 1971, for labels like Blue Rock, Mercury and Atco.

‘We’re Doing Fine’, written and arranged by Horace Ott, was her first hit, making it into the R&B Top 30 (and the Pop Top 100) in August of 1965.

Farlowe would record his version of the song a year later, and acquits himself quite nicely indeed.

He takes a slightly more aggressive tack with the tune – almost to a Northern-style tempo – and the end result is up there with the finest covers of US soul material by white UK singers.

Farlowe would go on to sing lead with both Colisseum and Atomic Rooster during the 70s, and is still in fine voice today.

I hope you dig the tune, 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).

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.

Comments (2)

By Larry, October 23, 2012 12:14 pm

Eddie Holman

Listen/Download Eddie Holman – I Surrender

Greetings all

Welcome to the mid-point of another week.

I figured that as long as we spent some time on Monday with a Northern Soul classic from the City of Brotherly Love, that we ought to do it again today.

I have gone on the record many times in the past about my admiration for the talents of the mighty Eddie Holman.

Though Holman is best known for his huge 1969 hit ‘Hey There Lonely Girl’, when you sit down and rap with soulies about the man the story becomes a lot longer and more interesting.

Holman recorded a grip of absolutely wonderful 45s before he signed with ABC at the end of the 60s, including Northern Soul classics like ‘Eddie’s My Name’ and ‘Stay Mine for Heaven’s Sake’ as well as epic ballads like ‘I Cry 1,000 Tears’ for labels like Cameo/Parkway and Bell, many under the aegis of the House of Harthon.

Holman was possessed of one of the most amazing voices of the classic soul era, as comfortable in a soaring tenor as he was in his more famous falsetto.

The song I bring you today comes from early in his ABC period, appearing on the b-side of his first 45 for that label in 1969.

‘I Surrender’ is unusual – at least for Holman’s tenure at ABC – in that it was an upbeat dancer in an otherwise ballad-heavy catalog.

Delivered (mostly) in Holman’s falsetto, the song has a stylish, horn and string-laden arrangement.

The song never charted in the US or the UK, but over the years it became a favorite on Northern Soul dance floors, so much so that the 45 is one of the more expensive discs he ever did, second only to ‘Eddie’s My Name’.

‘I Surrender’ was also issued in the UK on the Action label.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.

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).

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.

Comments (5)

By Larry, October 16, 2012 3:37 pm

The Tams

Dobie Gray

Listen/Download The Tams – Untie Me

Listen/Download Dobie Gray – Rose Garden

Greetings all

The day of the hump is upon us, and so I feel that it behooves me to provide a soundtrack to push us all up and over the top.

Since his passing back in the beginning of September, I have been deeply involved in a rediscovery of the music of Joe South, through his own recordings and via other artists versions of his songs.

Though he is best known to most as a writer other people’s hits – folks like Billy Joe Royal, Lynn Anderson and the Tams – South was an incredibly solid artist in his own right. The records he made between 1968 and 1972 for Capitol are a remarkable mixture of soul, country, rock and even psychedelia that deserve a much bigger audience.

It was during the process of digging into those albums that I was amazed not only by South’s own versions of his most famous songs (I’d say without hesitation that his is the definitive version of the oft-recorded ‘Hush’) but also pleasantly surprised to discover that he had written a couple of songs that I already loved in versions by other artists (like the Tams ‘Shelter’ and Billy Harner’s ‘She’s Almost You’).

The two songs I bring you today are two more excellent, soulful covers of great Joe South songs.

The first, the Tams ‘Untie Me’ represents both that group’s first hit, as well as South’s initial success as a songwriter.

‘Untie Me’ scraped the edge of the R&B Top 10 in the Fall of 1962, and it’s not only a great song but a great record as well. Produced (and with piano) by Ray Stevens, ‘Untie Me’ struck me the first time I heard it as a perfect tune to be turned into a beat ballad. Once I did a little digging I discovered that it had indeed been covered by Manfred Mann in 1964.

The tune is a great showcase for a restrained vocal by the mighty Joe Pope, and the arrangement is fantastic.

The second cut today is something  previously unknown to me that I happened upon while digging.

I’ma huge fan of Dobie Gray’s mid-60s Charger sides, and certainly knew of his later hits, but had no idea that he had recorded three singles for the White Whale label in 1969 and 1970.

Among these was an excellent take on South’s ‘Rose Garden’, two full years before it would be turned into a mega-hit by Lynn Anderson.

Gray’s version is subtly funky – a little more so than South’s original – and sounds to me like the kind of record that should have been a pop hit (it does seem to have gotten some play in a few regional markets in the East and the South).

Given enough time, it wouldn’t be hard to put together a mix or two of Joe South covers, but these two will have to suffice for now.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

* Simtec and Wylie were having their hits for the Mr Chand label at the same time as the Krystal Generation, and Simtec Simmons very own T-Box’s band provides the backing on this 45
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 14, 2012 2:38 pm

The Shirelles

Listen/Download The Shirelles – Last Minute Miracle

Greetings all

Welcome to another week.

The air is suddenly a touch cooler (especially at night) and so the music I bring you shall also be (at least metaphorically).

The vinyl gods have been especially kind to me of late, whether digging via the interwebs, or out in the field.

I picked up some very groovy stuff this summer, and had an exceptional day at the Allentown All-45 Show a few weeks back.

I find these days that my digging style (if such a thing can be said to exist) has become more refined. This is due in part to it being hammered into shape by experience, but also by the fact that I often enter the fray with somewhat lighter pockets.

I find myself taking more time, returning a lot more stuff to the boxes that birthed them, and in the end taking home a much richer stack of vinyl.

This is not to say that I’m not taking any chances out in the trenches, but rather that by using my head, I take home a lot more diamonds and a lot less gravel.

I only mention this to whet your appetite for the records yet to come here at Funky16Corners.

Oddly enough, the record I bring you today came into my hands not through any field work, but rather through some lucky listening.

This summer a friend passed along about ten hours of vintage airchecks, some soul, some rock and pop.

If you listen to the Funky16Corners Radio Show you’ll already know that I’ve been mining these for all kinds of drops and vintage ads.

What I’ve also been picking up on is several groovy songs that I was either completely ignorant of, or had heard of, but never really heard before.

Today’s selection is one of the latter.

The Shirelles are one of those great groups that populate the transitional period of late R&B/early soul.

Though many people would classify them as part of the ‘girl group’ period, I’d say that many of their best records are unquestionably soul sides (i.e. ‘Baby It’s You’ and ‘Boys’, both covered by the Beatles).

What I did not know, is that the Shirelles, much like the Platters, were another “early” group that carried on making excellent records well into the “classic” soul era.

The remarkable ‘Last Minute Miracle’ is one of those.

The bulk of the Shirelles hits fall between 1960 and 1964, but they managed to hit the charts one last time (#41 R&B, #99 Pop) in 1967 with today’s selection.

Written by George Kerr and Gerald Harris (and originally recorded by Linda Jones  – at a faster tempo – on Loma), and arranged by Richard Tee, ‘Last Minute Miracle’ is one of those records that has ‘Northern Soul Anthem’ written all over it.

Marked by a propulsive dance beat, delicious pop hooks and a remarkable lead vocal by Shirley Alston-Reeves, ‘Last Minute Miracle’ moves from a hard-charging verse into a chorus that builds dramatically.

It is both exceptionally well-written and well-performed.

This is one of those records that after I heard it once, I knew I had to have it. It took me a little while to get myself a copy for my box, but when I did I listened to it over, and over again.

The record also sports an excellent flipside in ‘No Doubt About It’.

The Shirelles would continue to record for Scepter, Blue Rock, Bell and United Artists between 1968 and 1974 but ‘Last Minute Miracle’ was their last date with the charts.

I hope you dig – and dance to – this record, 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).

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.

Comments (2)

By Larry, October 11, 2012 11:54 am

Dorothy Morrison performing at the Big Sur Pop festival

Listen/Download Dorothy Morrison – Rain

Greetings all

The end of another week is at hand and that means that once again the airwaves of the interwebs will be shot through with the sounds of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you are unable to join us at airtime, know that you can also subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes or pick up a straight MP3 download here at the blog.

This’ll be a quick one since I wrote most of what you need to know about Miss Dorothy Morrison last year when I posted her version of ‘Spirit In the Sky’.

The short version is that she was a San Franciso Bay area-based gospel singer (part of the Edwin Hawkins Singers of ‘Oh Happy Day’ fame) who also did a few years of secular recording.

The song I bring you today is ‘Rain’ from 1970 (there was also a promo/stereo release of this single in 1972).

On its own merits it is a rousing but of gospel-inflected soul with a great bass/percussion intro, gospel choir in the background and a lead by Miss Morrison herself.

it was co-produced by guitar wizard Lonnie Mack and arranged by Don Gallucci.

What takes this one from the level of interesting on its own merits to very interesting is the fact that it was a staple in David Mancuso’s highly influential Loft parties.

Mancuso included it ‘The Loft Vol 2’ mix released in 2000.

On its own ‘Rain’ might sound a little far removed from conventional ideas about dance floor classics, but it fits perfectly within the vibe of Mancuso’s Loft parties, where eclecticism was as important as danceablity.

I hope you dig the track 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).

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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, October 9, 2012 1:39 pm

Listen/Download The Krystal Generation – Unsatisfied With the Merchandise

Greetings all

Welcome to the middle of another spectacular week.

The tune I bring you today came into my record box via a chance meeting at an unexpected record digging stop a few years back.

I was out with the fam, headed in the direction of some delicious Thai food and we found ourselves with a little time to kill in the vicinity of the old Highland Park Record Sale.

I managed to grab a couple of very cool things that day, and today’s selection was one of those.

Flipping through a box of 45s, I was compelled to stop when I spotted the smiling face of Gene Chandler on the Mr. Chand label, familiar to me via a couple of very tasty Simtec and Wylie* 45s already extant in my crates.

I had never heard of the Krystal Generation before, but since I’m always on the lookout for Chitown soul, and the price was right, I grabbed the record and took it home.

When I finally had a chance to give it a spin I discovered what sounded an awful lot like an attempt by Mr Chandler et al to capitalize on the success of the Honey Cone ( a group that had a number of hits, some of them substantial, for the Hot Wax label between 1969 and 1972.

The Krystal Generation – who actually grazed the R&B Top 50 with an even more blatant grab at the Honey Cone with 1971’s ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’- were a femme vocal ensemble featuring the talents of Joyce Smith, Darlene Arnold, Mary Shelley and Mary Lead.

‘Unsatisfied With the Merchandise’ a very groovy side on its own merits, displays all the marks of a serious attempt to replicate the Invictus/Hot Wax sound, both instrumentally and vocally.

The history of popular music is filled with examples – somemore successful than others – with acts trying to get ahead by “borrowing” the sound and style of another, and the Krystal Generation, though competent, were a pretty obvious example thereof.

‘Unsatisfied With the Merchandise’ falls a few catalog numbers after ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’, so I’d assume that it was either from late 1971 or early 1972.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

* Simtec and Wylie were having their hits for the Mr Chand label at the same time as the Krystal Generation, and Simtec Simmons very own T-Box’s band provides the backing on this 45
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 7, 2012 1:48 pm

Jo Armstead

Listen/Download Jo Armstead – I’ve Been Turned On

Greetings all

Welcome to another week here at Funky16Corners.

I thought it only fitting that we get things off to a start with something upbeat, a certified banger if you will.

Though I’d guess that a lot of you had seen the name Jo (or Joshie) Armstead before, I’d bet fewer of you had actually heard one of her records.

Armstead who was born in Mississippi worked locally until joining the Ike and Tina Turner Revue as an early Ikette.

She ended up in New York City in the mid-60s, where she met Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Together, the trio wrote both ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’ and ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’ for Ray Charles.

When Ashford and Simpson headed to Detroit to work for Motown, Armstead and her husband went to Chicago and formed Giant Records.

The Chicago-based Giant label (there were imprints with the same name in Detroit and Texas) issued five singles by Armstead as well as sides by Fenton Robinson, Wayne Bennett, and Little Jimmy Scott.

Armstead’s Giant sides are classics of late 60s soul, moving from fast moving Northern Soul like ‘I Feel an Urge Coming On’ (which I just this weekend scored a copy of!), sweet soul like ‘Stone Good Lover’ and slamming, funky heat like today’s selection ‘I’ve Been Turned On’.

Armstead was a powerful singer who had the added benefit of also being an outstanding songwriter.

‘I’ve Been Turned On’ has a killer arrangement by Mike Terry (is there anything he worked on that didn’t turn out amazing?) and a dynamite vocal by Armstead (those opening lines are breathtaking).

The records is a great example of how funky a record can be without moving into outright ‘funk’ territory. Though there are plenty of strings keeping things classy on top, you have to slap on the headphones and check out those drums. Whoever was playing the drums was working overtime on the kick drum.

‘I’ve Been Turned On’ is one of those 45s that is as good for dancing as it is for listening, so pull down the ones and zeros and do a little of both.

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).

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 2, 2012 2:08 pm

Hugh Masekela (top) and Hedzoleh Soundz (bottom)

Listen/Download Hugh Masekela/Hedzoleh Soundz – Languta

Greetings all

I hope all is well on your end of the intertubes connection.

It wasn’t all that long ago, during one of my lucky summer digs that I turned up the 45 that you see before you today.

I’ve been a big fan of Hugh Masekela since I was a kid (Grazing In the Grass is one of my all time favorite records).

His story – and the many others that make up the South African musical diaspora of the 1960s – is fascinating, as is the music he made.

I had long heard about his collaboration with the African group Hedzoleh Soundz, but was never lucky enough to turn up a copy of the LP.

That said, I was very happy to find this 45.

Masekela – already a popular artist – returned to Africa in the early 70s with his (then) wife Miriam Makeba. It was there that he met the mighty Fela Kuti, as well as the Ghanian band Hedzoleh Soundz.

Hedzoleh mixed the traditional sounds of Ghana with western jazz and rock.

Masekela recorded the LP “Hugh Masekela Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz’ in 1973 in Lagos, Nigeria.

There’s something poetic about the process of Masekela leaving his homeland and mixing its sounds with those of western jazz and pop, only to return to Africa and re-mix his own fusion with that of Hedzoleh Soundz.

‘Languta’ the opening track of the LP (though the 45 edit is about a minute shorter than the album track) is a perfect example of Masekala’s jazz/Afrobeat fusion, with his echoplexed trumpet wailing over the Hedzoleh Soundz propulsive rhythms.

Masekela would continue to tour and record with members of Hedzoleh Soundz on several albums through the late 70s.

It’s a fantastic piece of music, and I hope you dig it.

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).

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.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 30, 2012 5:40 pm

My name is Monk. Welcome to my crib…

Listen/Download Monk Higgins and the Specialties – Big Water Bed

Greetings all

The beginning of another week is here, and the Funky16Corners fam is coming off of a very interesting weekend.

This Sunday marked the John Theurer Cancer Center Celebration of Life and Liberty at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. This is an annual event where cancer survivors and their loved ones gather together to celebrate their triumphs over their disease.

The Theurer Cancer Center (based out of Hackensack University Medical Center) does remarkable work treating a wide variety of cancers (including my wife’s leukemia) and this event is a life affirming gathering.

What it also was, was an opportunity to see the Queen of Soul, Miss Aretha Franklin perform a set of favorites – old and new – with her orchestra, which included backing vocalists led by Fonzi Thornton, who in his almost four decade career has graced albums by Chic, Luther Vandross and countless others.

Photos by Jennifer Grogan

It was great to see Aretha and to have my sons see her as well. She was in rare form with her voice as remarkable an instrument as it has ever been.

It was a rare pleasure.

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If you are a collector of records, and an inveterate reader of label – like yours truly – then the name Monk Higgins has surely passed before your eyes.

Higgins – born Milton Bland – got his start in his home state of Arkansas. Folowing his graduation from Arkansas State University, he moved to Chicago to study at the Chicago School of Music.

He eventually went to work as a teacher and a social worker before devoting himself to music full time.

Higgins worked as a saxophonist, composer, producer and arranger on a wide variety of sessions before making it into the R&B Top 40 in 1966 with the instrumental ‘Who Dun It’.

His productions for the One-Der-Ful, St Lawrence and Chess labels (among others) included sessions for Freddy Robinson, Alvin Cash, Cash McCall, Etta James, the Vontastics and many, many others are all worth seeking out (though he was so prolific you won’t have to do much seeking).

The track I bring you today hails from his 1972 LP with his band the Specialties, entitled ‘Heavyweight’.

I picked up a sealed copy of this killer was back in my early digging days in the strength of the Higgins “brand” as it were.

I’ve gone on in depth about the value of reading labels and lodging those ubiquitous producer/arranger/writer credits in your brain. If you do enough of that the connections start to make themselves and before you know it your crates have grown in both size and quality.

‘Heavyweight’ produced Monk Higgins second hit under his own name, ‘Gotta Be Funky’, which grazed the outer edges of the R&B Top 20 in the spring of 1972.

However, it is another, equally groovy track that I bring you today, ‘Big Water Bed’.

‘Big Water Bed’ starts out smooth, with some mellow organ and electric piano, but soon gets funky with the percussion and of course Higgins sax-o-mo-phone. You even get a crazy whistle, as well as some ladies chanting the title of the song, in case you forgot what it was all about.

If the sax sounds familiar it’s because the song was sampled by none other that Big Daddy Kane on his own ‘Ain’t No Half-Steppin’ in 1988.

I hope you dig the track, 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.

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).

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.

Comments (5)

By Larry, September 25, 2012 4:48 pm

Curtis Knight

Listen/Download Curtis Knight – Love-In

Greetings all

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well.

The tune I bring you today is something groovy from the slightly later, post-Jimi period of Curtis Knight’s career.

I was giving some thought to how it must have sucked for Knight to be known only via his intersection with Hendrix, but then I thought about how much energy he expended in attempting to capitalize on that connection, and forgot all about it.

Knight was working in NYC with his band the Squires when Hendrix, who had already taken part in what in retrospect seems like a marathon effort to make cameos in the careers of as many other performers as he could before breaking on his own.

As a live performer, Jimi worked stages alongside Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, the Isley Brothers, Carl Holmes and the Commanders, and in the studio with Lonnie Youngblood, Billy LaMont, Don Covay, King Curtis and many others.

He hooked up with Knight and the Squires when he finally landed in New York City in 1965. He recorded sessions with Knight (some legit, some jams) during ’65 and ’66, until he formed his own band, and was eventually spirited off to the UK by Chas Chandler.

Knight and his facilitators spent a lot of time repackaging pretty much anything he recorded with Hendrix (often deceptively), making a great deal of hay (and not a little money).

This is not to say that Knight was without talent himself. He had played and recorded in a variety of R&B, rock and soul settings through the 50s and 60s.

The tune I bring you today hails from a 1969, UK-only (?!?) 45 he recorded for RCA.

The record is an interesting microcosm of Knight as Hendrix mentor-turned-acolyte (parasite?), with a slightly psyched-out number ‘Fancy Meeting You Here’, complete with heavy guitar and echo appearing on the flipside.

The side of the disc we concern ourselves with today is the funky ‘Love In’.

The arrangement and production is very cool, with lots of wah-wah guitar, some oddly echoed horns, sassy female backing vocals and a great performance by Knight (I really dig the bridge too).

I’d love to know the story behind Knight getting a UK only record deal, though I have seen a few later LPs that seem to have only been released in Europe.

As it is, the vast majority of the records released with Curtis Knight’s name on them, had Jimi Hendrix’s right next to (or on top of, or under) it.

I hope you dig the cut, and I’ll 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).

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.