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By Larry, April 21, 2013 2:58 pm

Vince Montana

Listen/Download The Volcanos – Storm Warning

Listen/Download The Ethics – Think About Tomorrow

Listen/Download Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1

Listen/Download Brothers of Hope – Nickol Nickol

Listen/Download The Family – Family Affair

Listen/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes

Listen/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes (Club Mix)

Greetings all

It was with great sadness that I heard last week of the passing of the mighty Vincent Montana Jr.

Unless you’re a Philly soul or disco head, that name might not be familiar, but the music he helped to make over a career that lasted more than 50 years most certainly is.

Montana, known first and formost as a vibraphonist, but also a busy arranger and percussionist was one of the most important instrumentalists in the history of Philadelphia soul and funk.

Though he got his start backing local artists like Frankie Avalon, Montana went on to be one of the core members of the Philly “house band” that would become better known as MFSB.

His vibes stand out on countless Philly soul records from the mid-60s on, and his arrangers credit appeared on many of those record’s labels.

Montana’s work is all over various and sundry smaller local labels (and recorded under various band names) as well as just about every major Philadelphia International session.

Montana was also key in the formation of the Salsoul Orchestra, and through the disco era recorded with his own groups the Montana Sextet and Goody Goody.

The tracks I’ve selected really just scratch the surface of Montana’s catalog, but all touch on some important point.

The first is one of the greatest 60s soul 45s to come out of Philadelphia, and the first place I ever noticed Vince Montana coming through the mix as a sideman. ‘Storm Warning’ by the Volcanos is beloved by fans of classic soul, and Vince Montana’s vibes have a lot to do with that. Vibes are – at least to my ears – one of the key sonic elements in Northern Soul, along with the baritone sax, and Montana’s playing on ‘Storm Warning’ manages to keep driving the song forward while adding bright accents.

The Ethics are another great Philly vocal group. ‘Think About Tomorrow’, arranged by Montana, was a local hit in 1968. Give this one a couple of close listens and dig how Montana uses the strings, horns and vibes to frame the rhythm section. It’s an exquisite example of the kind of classy record that would come to represent the Philly sound.

Georgie Woods “The Guy With the Goods’ was a Philadelphia radio legend, who decided in the late 60s (like so many of his radio brethren around the country) to dip his toe into the world of recording. ‘Potato Salad’ – also arranged by Vince Montana – is an ‘adaptation’ of vibraphone legend Lionel Hampton’s ‘Greasy Greens’. You not only get to hear Woods laying down his rap, but also plenty of Montana’s vibes working their way through the mix.

The players that would form the core of MFSB would make records under a number of different names in the late 60s and early 70s. If you collect funk 45s, you’ve heard bands like the Interpretations, Hidden Cost, Daley’s Diggers, the Alliance, the Electric Indian and many more, all basically played by the same set of brilliant musicians, including Vince Montana.

My favorite of these pseudonymous 45s is ‘Nickol Nickol’ by the Brothers of Hope. One of the great, mid-tempo funk 45s of all time, ‘Nickol Nickol’ features Montana’s vibes throughout, but especially at the end where he lays down the ‘Eleanor Rigby’ quote in the run-off groove. This one was slept on for a long time, but the price has gone up considerably in the last few years.

The Family – Family Affair, acetate and North Bay 45

Though I’m not featuring any MFSB ‘proper’ in this post, the Family’s cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Family Affair’, which was first released on the North Bay label, is basically an edited version of the track that would appear on the first MFSB LP.

Vince Montana was – for most fo his career – a ‘background’ player, working behind the scenes, but in 1982 he had a dance hit in the US and the UK with the track ‘Heavy Vibes’. ‘Heavy Vibes’ is a sophisticated, jazzy/funky bit of disco, with plenty of vibes (naturally…). Here you get to check out both the edit and the extended club mix – both worth hearing.

Vince Montana was a master, and though he was more involved than most, he was a very solid example of the importance of the unseen/unheralded musicians that provide the backing for the music we love. People will do lip service to the house bands of labels like Stax, ensembles like the Funk Brothers or the Muscle Shoals group, but only the people with their heads (and ears) deep in the game know who the individual components of those outfits were, and that’s a shame.

The next time you hear the vibes ring through one of those great Philly records, elbow the cat next to you and say ‘That’s Vince Montana.’

I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

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

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 18, 2013 11:19 am

Brenda and the Tabulations

Listen/Download Brenda and the Tabulations – God Only Knows

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, so I will once again remind you to spin the dial on your wireless sets to Viva Radio, this and every Friday night at 9PM so that you might dig the Funky16Corners Radio Show. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 at the blog.

The tune I bring you todayis yet another one of those “right under my nose” surprises that I unearthed in the Funky16Corners record vault.

I was digging around, looking for something else (naturally) when I happened upon Brenda and the Tabulations 1967 LP “Dry Your Eyes’.

It occurred to me that I had wanted to record ‘The Wash’, which had oddly enough turned up in a TV advert in the last few months, but while I was looking over the jacket I realized (perhaps for the first time) that the group had also recorded a cover version of the Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’.

I flipped the disc onto the turntable, gave it a spin and realized that it was not only excellent but would make a much more interesting entry here at the blog, so I recorded it.

Originally recorded for the Beach Boys legendary 1966 LP ’Pet Sounds’, ‘God Only Knows’ is widely regarded (here as well) as one of the finest songs that Brian Wilson (with Tony Asher)every wrote.

There aren’t a great many soul versions of Beach Boys tunes – though Freddy McCoy’s soul jazz take on ‘Pet Sounds’ is transcendant – so when I saw that Brenda and the Tabulations had recorded it my interest was piqued.

The group had only come together and recorded for the first time in 1966, havin their first major hit, ‘Dry Your Eyes’ (Top 10 R&B/Top 20 Pop) in early 1967.

They went on to have 17 R&B chart hits over the next ten years, moving from Dionn records to Top & Bottom, Epic and Chocolate City.

Their version of ‘God Only Knows’ is a fairly reverent take, opening (like the original) with French horns, strings and a lovely lead vocal by Brenda Payton. The band does kick up the tempo a bit, and there are some really unusual – vaguely trippy – backing vocals.

It’s an unusual, and excellent version of a very well known song.

I hope you all 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 (3)

By Larry, April 16, 2013 11:39 am

The Meters

Listen/Download The Meters – Good Old Funky Music

Greetings all

How about something heavy from the Meters?

Now – and I agree completely – there are those among you that would say that there ain’t nothing un-heavy in the Meters bag, but I would also say that there’s heavy, and then there’s HEAVY, and the tune I bring you today is HEAVY.

Though amongst the world of funk 45 (and other formats, natch) collectors, the Meters are held up as one of the cornerstones of the sound, I think it would be safe to say that a lot of folks take these titans for granted.

On the outside, i.e. among the straights, the chart-riders and such, the Meters were just another instro band, akin to Booker T and the MGs, albeit with less chart success.

To the collectorati, the Meters are a veritable mountain of cheap 45s (and much more expensive LPs) that are encountered on any decent dig.

To those of us who revel in the sound of some of the most rhythmically innovative funk ever made, the Meters stand astride the landscape like giants.

No matter how many times I’m asked “what is the funkiest record ever made” I always find my way back to ‘Cardova’, four and a half minutes of bad-assitude that cuts many a multi-hundred-dollar disc to shreds with ease.

The law firm of Nocentelli, Neville, Porter and Modeliste were the very definition of unfuckwithable, and ‘Good old Funky Music’ is one of my personal favorites in their oeuvre.

Released in 1971 as a non-LP 45, ‘Good Old Funky Music’ sees our friends from New Orleans throwing down on the wah-wah pedal, whilst turning up the funk dial considerably.

‘Good Old Funky Music’ was the last 45 Josie released by the Meters before they moved to Reprise in early 1972.

I would end – as I often do – by hoping that you all dig the record as much as I do, but in this case at least, that ought to be a foregone conclusion.

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 (7)

By Larry, April 14, 2013 10:03 am

Brian Auger (Top left) and the Trinity

Listen/Download Brian Auger and the Trinity – I Wanna Take You Higher

Listen/Download Brian Auger and the Trinity – Listen Here

Greetings all

Welcome to yet another week in which the digital artifacts of the analog age are unearthed and put on display for the edification (and edumacation) of all involved.

If you were following the coming and going hereabouts you will have noted that the Funky16Corners fam vacated for a short time, in which we went in search of rest, relaxation, and in my case, records.

I was very lucky indeed, having been tipped off to an excellent digging spot or two by a friend.

Though I had never visited Pittsburgh before (odd, I know) I was aware that the good people of the region had excellent taste in music, especially where R&B and soul were concerned. I figured that it must follow (and it did) that records of that ilk must be available thereabouts.

The first spot I hit gave up the goods (if only I’d had 10 or 15 more hours, and the cash that would have required), with yours truly exiting the store with a nice fat stack of funk, soul and all kinds of Iron Leg ish (the popsike and what not).

One of the disks I was most pleased to have encountered is the one you see before you today.

I have had the ‘Befour’ LP (1970) by Brian Auger and the Trinity for years, but had no idea that there were any 45s (or the edits there-on) released from the album, which is why finding the 7” with versions of ‘I Wanna Take You Higher’ and ‘Listen Here’ was such a groove.

Auger was in the top rank of UK Hammond wranglers, first in the Steampacket, then alongside the mighty Julie Driscoll , then onward with the Trinity and the Oblivion Express, getting progressively jazz-funkier as he went on.

I dig both his earlier and later stuff, and ‘Befour’ is an excellent example of the latter, as well as being fairly easy to find on the cheap.

The excellent version of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘I Wanna Take You Higher’ runs the same 5:00 on the 45 as on the album, with some excellent organ and guitar.

The version of ‘Listen Here’ is what makes this 45 worth grabbing.

‘Listen Here’, written and originally recorded by the great Eddie Harris is one of the true ‘standards’ of the soul jazz genre, recorded in many ways, by many people and having appeared in this space a time or two over the years.

The LP version of ‘Listen Here’ runs almost nine and a half minutes, substantial portion of which is devoted to a long (way too long) drum solo by Clive Thacker. It’s not that old Clive wasn’t up to the task, but – and I say this as a drummer – the hippie era drum solo was one of the more unfortunate musical traditions, thankfully gone by the wayside.

The 45 edit of the song truncates the percussion breakdown to a tasteful 27 seconds, keeping the forward momentum of the musical enterprise intact, while also giving the drummer his oft requested “some”.

It is a groovy disc indeed, and well worth grabbing should you come across a copy of your own.

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, April 11, 2013 12:28 pm

Earl Cosby aka Jackie Lee aka Earl Nelson

Listen/Download Earl Cosby – Ooh Honey Baby

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, and that means it’s Funky16Corners Radio Show time again. We take to the airwaves of the interwebs every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If your ears aren’t available then, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 out of the archive here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is yet another example of the talents of the mighty Earl Nelson, aka Jackie Lee, aka Earl Cosby.

While I have never gotten to the bottom of why Nelson recorded in so many guises during the 60s, I can say with confidence that the sounds he made were always very groovy.

If West Coast Northern Soul is your bag, you already know that Nelson recorded certified classics as part of Bob and Earl (‘Harlem Shuffle’) and as Jackie Lee (‘The Duck’).

The tune I bring you today is a fairy recent addition to my crates. I knew of the Earl Nelson recordings for years, but only found a copy of this particular 45 in the last few months.

‘Ooh Honey Baby’ b/w ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ was released in 1965 on the storied Mira label, then again (with the sides reversed, on Mirwood this time) in 1966.

Despite the record’s obvious charms – it’s a hard charging dance floor killer – it failed to make a mark on the charts either time. It’s got all the hallmarks of top quality Northern Soul, from the driving beat, vibes, classy horns and hooks a plenty.

Released under the name Jackie Lee, ‘The Duck’ was a Top 10 R&B hit in 1965, and it’s possible that the ‘Earl Cosby’ persona fell by the wayside as a result.

That said, both side of this disc are excellent, and well worth seeking out to add to your crates.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back 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 (5)

By Larry, April 9, 2013 11:26 am

Ike and Tina Turner

Listen/Download Ike and Tina Turner – Ooh Poop A Doo

Greetings all

How’s about a little Ike and Tina to get you through the middle of the week?

This is an especially groovy one, because you get some of that soulful action, delivered in the form of one of the classic New Orleans R&B numbers.

Released in 1964 on the flipside of the epic ‘Merry Christmas Baby’, Ike and Tina’s version of Jesse Hill’s ‘Ooh Poop A Doo’ (spelling of title will vary from artist to artist) has the rough and ready sound of a ‘live in studio’ joint.

While I’m not positive, I think this might be the same version that appeared on the ‘Ike and Tina Show Live’ LP in 1965.

There’s a decidedly lo-fi vibe to the proceedings, but Tina and the Ikettes are – as always – in rare form (dig the call and response at the beginning).

Hill’s OG was an R&B Top 5 hit (Pop Top 30) in 1960, and it seems that every act of the time, rock and soul alike either recorded it or made it a staple of their live sets.

Ike and Tina released the song at least two more times, in 1971 and 1974 (on the flips of ‘I Want To Take You Higher’ and ‘Nutbush City Limits’), so you know they dug it.

Though it seems to jump across a few different labels, I’d love to see someone assemble Ike and Tina’s live recordings from the 60s into some kind of comp. Ike always had a hot band going, and of course with Tina and the Ikettes out in front they could do no wrong.

I hope you dig the cut, and I’ll be back on Friday with some more soul.
.

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, April 7, 2013 1:14 pm

The Drifters

Listen/Download The Drifters – If You Don’t Come Back

Greetings all

I have something very cool to get the week started.

To repeat a story that has been told here many times (in many ways) before, I first encountered the song I bring you today in a much different form.

Thanks to my time as part of the 80s mod/garage scene, and due to the fact that I had friends with xcellent musical taste and healthy record collections, I first heard a grip of R&B and soul songs as filtered through the prism of the British Invasion (R&B, beat, mod etc).

More often than not, the distance between the original presentation and the cover was fairly small, i.e. white acts trying to replicate the sounds they heard on imported 45s and LPs as closely as possible.

Occasionally, that distance was expanded considerably.

The first time I heard ‘If You Don’t Come Back’ it was via the 1968 psyched out cover version by Gary Walker and the Rain.

The Rain was Gary Walker’s band following the dissolution of the Walker Brothers, and included in its ranks guitarist Joey Molland who would later go on to join Badfinger.

Their sole LP ‘Album #1’ – only ever legitimately released in Japan, but heavily bootlegged – is one of the truly great psych albums of the day.

That said, I always dug ‘If You Don’t Come Back’ but it was years before I discovered that it was a cover of a record originally recorded by the Drifters in 1963.

Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and recorded not long after they started working with the Drifters, ‘If You Don’t Come Back’ has lyrical echoes of the kind of tunes the pair had been recording with the Coasters.

Leiber and Stoller manage to take a song that would have worked in a more humorous setting with the Coasters, and tone it down a little, giving the Drifters record (with a lead vocal by Johnny Moore) a bit of an edge.

It’s one of the rougher, more soulful things the Drifters ever laid down, with a great guitar/horn riff repeated in the verse and some cool group harmonies in the chorus. The lyrics are brilliant.

“Well a noise woke me up this morning
I looked through the venetian blind
The car was gone and you were gone
And I almost lost my mind

If you don’t come back
If you don’t come back today baby, well
They can call up the people from the crazy house
And take this crazy man away

I threw myself up against the wall now
I tore my clothes and I sobbed
I ran out on the street in my stockinged feet
Calling “Police, I been robbed!”

Chorus

Mrs Brown been talking about me
To the people way across the street
Said “I cooked that boy a bucket of stew
But the poor thing just won’t eat”

Chorus

Well the doctor came up to see me
Check me with a fine tooth comb
You ain’t sick, but you’re gonna die
If you don’t get your baby back home

Interestingly, there’s a fantastic version of the song by an earlier British group. The Undertakers (featuring Jackie Lomax) recorded a blistering cover of ‘If You Don’t Come Back’ (billed as the ‘Takers) in 1964. Whether or not this was the version that inspired Gary Walker and the Rain, I cannot say, but it is certainly worth hearing.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

PS Please to forgive the roughness of this 45. The person that sold it to me had an odd way of grading records…
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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, April 4, 2013 11:34 am

Ingfried Hoffman aka Memphis Black aka The Memphis Soul Band

Listen/Download Memphis Soul Band – That’s Me Boy

Listen/Download Memphis Soul Band – Mrs Robinson

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, and that means it’s Funky16Corners Radio Show time again. We take to the airwaves of the interwebs every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If your ears aren’t available then, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 out of the archive here at the blog.

The tracks I bring you today are yet another example of the pseudonymous work of Teutonic Hammond wrangler Ingfried Hoffman.

You have already sampled his work when I posted ‘Why Don’t You Play the Organ Man’ by Memphis Black a few years ago.

Hoffman, who worked in the band of saxophonist Klaus Doldinger before creating the Memphis Black persona (one 45 and an LP under that name) recorded the tunes you see before you today under the name of the Memphis Soul Band in 1969.

Working again – as he did as Memphis Black – with expat guitarist/vocalist Joe Quick, Hoffman laid down some very groovy covers of contemporary soul material, as well as two originals in the same basic style.

Hoffman went on to record a number of library titles, and the Memphis Soul Band sides bear the same, hard charging, au go go vibe as much of the UK-based material in the same vein, such as the Mohawks (or any Hawkshaw related jams) or the New London Rhythm and Blues Band.

The first cut, ‘That’s Me Boy’ opens with a spoken intro by Quick, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense no matter how many times I listen/re-listen to it. That said, once Hoffman drops in the band kicks into a very cool groove (the horns are especially nice).

The second cut, a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Mrs Robinson’ hews pretty closely to the Booker T and the MGs take on the song but kicks up the tempo a notch. This is one of those tracks that seems purpose built for the Mod dance floor.

If you desire to place any of Hoffman’s vinyl in your own crates, the Memphis Soul Band LP is probably the most affordable option running 30 or 40 bucks in good shape. The Memphis Black 45 on Ascot is much harder to grab, hovering in the$100 range, with the German issued Memphis Black LP (on Sunset) grabbing $50 more than that (though it has been reissued).

I hope you dig the tunes, 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 (3)

By Larry, April 1, 2013 7:53 pm

Funky16Corners Presents: Light It Up for World Autism Awareness Day

Kool and the Gang – Who’s Gonna Take the Weight (Deelight)
Sir Joe Quaterman and Free Soul – I Got So Much Trouble In My Mind (GSF)
Aretha Franklin – Save Me (Atlantic)
Marvelettes – I’ll Keep Holding On (Tamla)
Ikettes – Don’t Feel Sorry For Me (Modern)
Donald Height- Life Is Free (You Can Be What You Wanna Be) (Hurdy Gurdy)
Lyn Collins – Things Got To Get Better (Get Together) (People)
Lee Dorsey – Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further (Polydor)
Johnny Otis Show – Keep the Faith Pt1 (Eldo)
James Brown – Get Up Get Into It Get Involved (King)
Isley Brothers – Fight the Power (T-Neck)
Billy Butler – Right Track (Okeh)
Etta James – I’m So Glad (Chess)
Gladys Knight and the Pips – Thank You (Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Motown)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Presents Light It Up for World Autism Awareness Day – 80MB Mixed MP3/256K

Greetings all.

The mix you see before you – though it contains music that should be familiar to readers of Funky16Corners – is a departure of sorts.

I’ve been writing the Funky16Corners blog for almost a decade. Over the years, in addition to the music and the history behind it, I’ve written (to varying degrees) about the events of my life.

Though I haven’t gone into great detail on the subject, I have made references in the past to that fact that autism has made an impact on our family (in case you were wondering about that link in the sidebar…).

Both of our sons – now 6 and 9 – have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum, and as a result, I have – for the last four years – been a stay-at-home-dad.

Even though being a single-income household comes with its own challenges, having a full-time parent at home to coordinate multiple therapies, meetings and the various and sundry unplanned/unexpected challenges that come with having children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) made a tremendous amount of sense.

Back in 2008, when our sons were initially diagnosed, we had already spent a considerable amount of time dealing with issues that we did not understand.

When we finally managed to weather the batteries of tests, doctor visits and paperwork, and identified the issues at hand, we found ourselves at the end of one journey and the beginning of much longer one.

A diagnosis of autism is a singularly difficult thing for any parent to deal with.

I recall at the time feeling a mixture of relief, in that we finally had a framework to deal with the problems our sons had been having, but also trepidation about finding ways to deal with them going forward.

What kinds of therapies would the boys need, and how would we arrange for them?

How would we work with the professionals in our local schools to make sure that they got the proper education?

As daunting as these questions might seem, they were just the beginning.

The next few years were like navigating an especially challenging maze, in which every turn could reveal either a new way forward – with opportunities to educate ourselves about how to do the best for our children – or another dead end where we would have to push aside our disappointment, regroup and reset the course.

The biggest challenge that every parent of an ASD child has to meet, is when you realize that there are no easy answers. This is the point when it becomes apparent that most progress will be incremental at best, and that you’re dealing with the “long game”.

It has always seemed appropriate to me that one of the public symbols of autism has been the puzzle piece.

Not only does it represent the unique nature of every child, but also that once a parent – or any family member – has begun to deal with the emotional and practical ramifications of an autism diagnosis (and there are many), they have to begin to assemble what amounts to a huge puzzle, laid out before them.

Aside from the obvious things like therapy and school, there are all of the underlying issues that have to be dealt with, such as insurance, work (and time away from it), socialization, and behavioral training inside and outside the home.

In many of these things our family has been extraordinarily lucky.

We were able to get both of our sons diagnosed fairly early – which in the case of our youngest, who was experiencing developmental delays, was incredibly important – and we were fortunate enough to have health insurance.

Though some families can take this kind of foundation for granted, many cannot.

Parents often struggle to find treatment for their children. If and when they do, they are often met with a new set of hurdles, whether complications with insurance, uncooperative/poorly prepared school districts, and/or friends and family that do not fully grasp the nature of the problem.

I mention all of this because April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day.

This is a day first set aside by the United Nations in 1989 to spread the word about Autism spectrum disorders, the children and families that deal with them every day, and the organizations that study them and work toward a cure.

The mix above is in my own small way an attempt to convey an impression of the struggles, joys and rewards of raising children with autism.

While there aren’t – as far as I know – any soul or funk songs that deal directly with issues of autism, there are certainly a wide variety of tunes that deal with the palette of emotions that children with ASD and their families encounter every single day.

One need only look to the titles of the songs in the playlist above to get a feeling for what kinds of things we go through in our lives.

Parents need to deal with assessment (Who’s Gonna Take the Weight), emotional turmoil (I Got So Much Trouble In My Mind), self pity (Save Me), perseverance (I’ll Keep On Holding On), strength (Don’t Feel Sorry For Me), possibility (Life Is Free You Can Be What You Want To Be), optimism (Things Got To Get Better), reaching out for help (Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further), steadfastness (Keep The Faith), doing what you can to spread the word (Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved), taking on the system when necessary (Fight the Power), assuring yourself that you’re doing the right things (Right Track), taking the time to cherish your kids in their uniqueness (I’m So Glad) and in the end, being thankful for what you’ve got (Thank You Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).

I became a fan of soul music so many years ago, and eventually started writing about it because I find it to be uniquely powerful and transcendent. Though it’s true about any good music, soul music has touched me, and many of the people that read Funky16Corners deeply.

My feelings about great records, and spinning them, are that the best of them carry in their grooves a sort of magic.

Whether it’s that a song effects the listener specifically, i.e. connects them to a memory, or in a general sense where their emotions are stirred and they feel compelled to get up and dance, when I dip into my record box and pull out a particularly powerful 45 (or post one here at the blog, or on the radio show) I get to facilitate that process.

Having children is one of the most amazing, challenging, sometimes frustrating, but always rewarding experiences I can imagine.

Raising children with ASD is all of that amplified significantly.

And, oddly enough, this experience has given me (and continues to give me) a deeper appreciation for the power of music, in how it affects me, and my children as well.

I hope you take the time to follow the link to Autism Speaks, and if this is all unfamiliar to you, maybe take a little time to read up on your read ups.

If you know someone with ASD in their family, see what you can do to help.

Until we meet again

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, March 31, 2013 12:50 pm

The Mighty Eldridge Holmes

Listen/Download Eldridge Holmes – A Love Problem

Greetings all

For the next week or so, while the F16C fam get in a well deserved bit of rest and relaxation, I’ll be republishing some of my favorite tunes from the Funky16Corners Archives. I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back soon.

Larry

Originally posted 2/11/2005

Eldridge Holmes is a name that most people outside of old-time New Orleans residents and record collectors will fail to recognize.

This is a shame because Holmes (in partnership with songwriter/producer/arranger Allen Toussaint) made some of the most memorable funk and soul sides to come out of the Crescent City in the 60’s.

For the full story on Eldridge Holmes click here…

‘A Love Problem’ was released in 1967 as the flip side to his cover of Lee Dorsey’s ‘Working In A Coal Mine’ (not one of Holmes’ best records and an otherwise unnecessary remake). It’s a slow ballad, highlighted throughout by Toussaint’s piano.

Holmes, best known for his storming funk sides like ‘Pop Popcorn Children’ and ‘The Book’ was a great soul shouter, but for a glimpse of the truly sublime, one needs to check out his ballad performances.

Opening with a horn section (featuring a decidedly uncharacteristic muted trumpet) and settling into a slow tempo ‘A Love Problem’ sees Holmes addressing his woman, who’s parents think they’re too young to be in love. Unfolding like some French Quarter Romeo and Juliet story (ending short of the twin suicides of the Bard), Holmes pleading vocal is one of the finest examples of Southern soul balladry from the era.

He manages to move from an almost conversational tone to moments when his voice soars over the rest of the song. As earthy and soulful as it is, the arrangement at times takes on a kind of “prettiness”, especially when Toussaint lays in piano accents alongside Holmes’ voice.

Together (along with the anonymous musicians and background singers) Holmes and Toussaint managed to create something of great beauty (something they did again the following year with Holmes spellbinding cover of Tim Hardin’s ‘If I Were A Carpenter’).

One of the things you hope for when listening to good (dare I say great) music, are those moments when all the elements (writers, performers, lyrics) that make up the little three and a half minute dramas blend into something transcendent.

One of those moments comes at the beginning of the second verse where Holmes sings (in a pas de deux with Toussaint’s bluesy piano):

‘Something tells me, your Mom and your Daddy they don’t like me. But what they fail to realize baby, is whatever will be will be.’

Holmes becomes the boy in the song. The listener gets the feeling that this isn’t just another poetic anthem to heartbreak but a brief window into someone else’s pained memories. The fact that Holmes himself wrote this song (his collaboration with Toussaint was fairly unusual in that he composed many of the songs they recorded together) suggests that pure autobiography is a possibility.

On the other hand, I like to think that a truly great singer is an actor of a sort – bringing the story in a song to life with their performance – and even though Holmes may be “method acting” in bringing to life his own memories in the composition and performance of ‘A Love Problem’, he does so in a way that is supremely evocative.

For a brief moment he makes the listener forget that they are witnessing an artistic conceit, and instead appear to be privy to a real confession, as if you were sitting next to Holmes on a New Orleans bar stool listening to his tale of woe.

Whether or not this record effects you as deeply as it does me, it deserves a listen (or four or five), if only to bring back to life this great, but largely forgotten performer.

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, March 28, 2013 10:30 pm

The Spellbinders

Listen/Download – Spellbinders – Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again)

Greetings all.

For the next week or so, while the F16C fam get in a well deserved bit of rest and relaxation, I’ll be republishing some of my favorite tunes from the Funky16Corners Archives. I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back soon.

Don’t forget to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio!

Larry

Originally posted 04/14/2011

My acquisition of the Spellbinders ‘Help Me (Get Myself Back Together Again)’ is yet another one of those twisted tales that winds its way back to the big mountain of 45s that came into my life lo these many years ago.

I’ve gone on about it many times, so I’ll keep it short. My father-in-law, while out scouting for antiques happened upon a huge stash of 45s, called and asked if I wanted them (naturally I said yes) and then brought them down to our house.

When they got here I was stunned by the sheer quantity (several thousand), and my wife and I spent the better part of a summer going through them, pulling out the stuff I knew was good, culling the stuff I knew was bad, and trying to figure out the difference on everything else.

Thanks to the huge amount of records, this proved to be an inexact science, and in addition to several boxes of the good stuff, I ended up with a couple of hundred things that at least looked interesting (or too interesting to throw out) and I’ve been picking at those ever since.

Every once in a while, when I have a little time on my hands I head back into those boxes, and recently such a trip resulted in one of the great ‘how the hell did I miss this?’ moments.

I must have given the Spellbinders 45 a spin at some point (since I had it filed as ‘soul’) but I suspect that I only listened to the other side (‘Danny Boy’), since it did not make a significant impression on me, which, had I listened to today’s selection, would not have been the case (am I making any sense here?).

That said, when I did drop the needle on ‘Help Me (Get Myself back Together Again)’ I was immediately drawn in by the wonderful intro, with the bass, vibes and percussion, followed immediately by the drums bringing in the pounding four on the floor beat. The rest of the record is pure Northern Soul genius, combining a great song, stellar arrangement and production (by Van McCoy) and fantastic vocals by the group.

What little I’ve been able to find out about the Spellbinders is that they were only together for a few years, recording a handful of 45s and an LP for Columbia (and one 45 for Date), with ‘Help Me…’ being issued as a non-LP 45 in 1966.

The group also had New Jersey roots, which is always a cool thing (for me) to find out.

I’m just thankful now that this 45 didn’t languish for another few years, or get sucked back into the vinyl maelstrom forever.

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 (5)

By Larry, March 21, 2013 11:42 am

Funky16Corners Presents: Soul Version

Jackie Mittoo – Hip Hug (Coxsone) – Booker T & The MGs
Gaylettes – Son of a Preacherman (Steady) – Dusty Springfield
Dobby Dobson – Don’t Make Me Over (Pama Supreme) – Dionne Warwicke
Federalman – Soul Serenade (Steady) – King Curtis
Ken Boothe – Gonna Take a Miracle/Version (Hulk) – Royalettes
Winston Wright – Heads or Tails (Green Door) – Booker T & the MGs
Lorna Bennett – Breakfast In Bed (Harry J) – Dusty Springfield
Byron Lee – Who Done It (Dynamic) – Monk Higgins
Pioneers – Papa Was a Rolling Stone (Trojan) – Temptations
Horace Andy – Show and Tell (Money Disc) – Al Wilson
Pat Rhoden – Living For the City (Attack) – Stevie Wonder
Byron Lee – Shaft (Dynamic) – Isaac Hayes
Winston Samuels and the Cintones – Let’s Get It On (Clintone) – Marvin Gaye
Byron Lee – Hot Reggay (Dynamic) – James Brown
Shark Wilson and the Basement Heaters – Make It Reggay(version) (Ashanti) – James Brown
Pat Rhoden – Boogie On Reggae Woman (Horse) – Stevie Wonder
Alton Ellis – La La Means I Love You (Mr Tipsy) – Delfonics
Tomorrows Children – Sister Big Stuff (London) – Jean Knight

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Presents Soul Version – 109MB Mixed MP3/256K

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your side of the universe, and that you’re all ready for the weekend.

Don’t forget that the Funky16Corners Radio Show hits the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at the time of broadcast, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 (or two, or 100) out of the archive here at the blog.

The fam and I are taking some time off to chill in the coming weeks (which will be filled with specially selected reposts of some of my fave tunes from the archives) so I figured I’d leave you with something special until I’m back behind the keyboard again.

The mix you see before you is the fruit of what I like to call one of my “special boxes”.

The Funky16Corners record vault is lined, floor to ceiling (in some places) with crates of LPs and boxes of 45s, and sprinkled liberally with a grip of those old-timey, pasteboard, 45 carrying cases.

As pretty much any collector does, I grab those cases wherever I find them, first and foremost because they’re cool looking, but because – and I’m pretty sure you figured this out already – I’ve got lots and lots of 45s that need a place to stay.

I mentioned the “boxes” before, those being the purpose-made 45 storage boxes that hold over 100 discs each. There are lots of those.

However, my collection has its niches, certain sub-genres, not collected as aggressively as others (for a variety of reasons, though usually boiled down to issues of availability), and many of these niches get packed away in those smaller boxes.

There’s one for disco 45s, one for rockabilly/instro 45s, and the one that gave up today’s sounds, the reggae and ska 45s.

I’ve been a huge fan of ska and reggae since I was in high school, when the Two-Tone revival was in full swing and I was led by bands like the Specials to investigate the first-wave of ska, going back to the mid-60s.

It would be fair to say that the bulk of the ska and reggae in my hands is on CD, especially old comps and the later (excellent) Trojan mini-box sets.

However, I’m always on the lookout for Jamaican vinyl, often seeking out favorite records (some of which – Winston Wright, Pioneers, Shark Wilson – are in this mix) and grabbing cool stuff whenever I encounter it in the field.

As the contents of this mix show, I’m a big fan of reggae covers of American soul tunes, of which there are many.

The groovy  thing – and something I’ve discussed in this space before – is that despite the stylistic delineation, what you’re hearing is still demonstrably soul music (albeit with a reggae beat).

The influence of American R&B and soul on Jamaican music is undeniable, with many powerhouse AM radio stations, in cities like New Orleans and Miami sending out American pop to the islands.

What you hear isn’t mere “coverage”, if you will, but rather some truly great singers like Ken Boothe and Alton Ellis, and instrumentalists like Winston Wright, Jackie Mittoo and Byron Lee, interpreting some of the finest material available at the time.

Soul Version is composed of just about an hour of my favorites, running (like my personal tastes) from sweet soul, to organ instrumentals, to funk and just a touch of dub.

Many of these records have appeared here at Funky16Corners over the years, either by themselves or in mixes.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all soon.

Keep the faith

Larry

PS I just realized I took a picture of the wrong Pioneers 45…sorry ’bout that.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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.