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By Larry, January 9, 2011 1:11 pm

Syl Johnson

Listen/Download – Syl Johnson – Different Strokes

Greetings all.

How’s by you?

I had a groovy weekend hanging with the extended family (some of whom had to truck up from South Crackalack for late Christmas) and doing my level best to chill (as opposed to freeze, which is what I’ve been doing lately).

If anyone hasn’t already been hipped to the fact by my constant mentions, I will be spinning many groovy rackords this Monday with the one Perry Lane at Spindletop at Botanica in NYC. If you are in the neighborhood, you really ought to fall by and soak up some of the groove grease. I will be bringing much Hammond goodness, some groovy vibes and some au go go swingers and the vinyl will start to cook at 10PM. I hope to see some of you there.

That said, who feels like getting a good swift kick in the ass?

I have paid tribute to the mighty Syl Johnson in this space a number of times over the years.

He is perhaps the greatest of the cats who started out working the blues and made the passage into soul and funk, and thanks to a swanky – and comprehensive – set by the Numero Group, Mr. Johnson is as they used to say, the man of the hour.

It should go without saying – though you already know I’m gonna go ahead and say it anyway – that Syl was badass, never bringing just 100 percent when 200 would do, and that was never more obvious than with today’s selection.

Syl Johnson is very close to the top of the list of soul singers that, whenever I see one of his 45s in the field, if I don’t have it, I grab it, and if I’m not sure (and with someone of my advanced vintage and declining mental capacity, this happens more than I like) I grab it anyway, because there’s just no such thing as too much Syl.

However, as long as I’ve been prowling the crates, I never happened upon a copy of ‘Different Strokes’, and there’s a good reason for that.

Thanks to the age hip hop and turntablism, even if a record is a killer all by its own bad self, should it contain a drum break, loop, ill horn stab or other sample bait, it ends up on the want lists not only of regular old record collectors, but also of beatheads and producers, who hope to emulate those that have found success slicing and dicing before them, or maybe just to say that they pack all the tastiest breaks and beats in their record box (or on their laptop, or whatever).

‘Different Strokes’ is one such record. It is unquestionably what Slim Gaillard would anoint a ‘killer diller’ on it’s own, but since it has been sampled a few dozen times (see the list below*) it is sweated by many, and as a result, it is harder to nail than many other Syl Johnson 45s.

Fortunately for me (and now you all) I was eventually able to scoop up a nice, clean copy, which I will whip on you presently.

‘Different Strokes’ isn’t quite what I’d call pure funk. It is undeniably funky, but it’s really a hard charging bit of high octane sock soul with enough groove to put a dip in your hip. It’s like an angry bear showing up on funk’s front stoop, clawing at the door, but never really busting into the house.

This is not to say that I would for a minute hesitate to drop it during a funk set, on account of if you can’t get your dance on to this record you need a soul transplant (or at least a few more drinks).

That all said, if you were not hip to Syl, you are now, and you should either run out onto the intertubes and score that Numero set, or hunker down into the crates and find you some 45s.

See you all on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

*Songs sampling ‘Different Strokes (from the Breaks.com)
Boogie Down Productions’s “Criminal Minded”
Boss’s “Recipe of a Hoe”
Brand Nubian’s “Try to Do Me”
Compton’s Most Wanted’s “Give it Up”
De la Soul’s “The Magic Number”
DOC’s “Beautiful But Deadly”
Dr. Octagon’s “Bear Witness (Extended Mix)”
EPMD’s “It’s My Thing”
Fear of a Black Hat’s “Fuck the Security Guard”
Ice Cube’s “Robbin’ Hood (Cause It ain’t All Good)”
King T’s “At Your Own Risk”
Kool G Rap’s “F U Man”
Kool G Rap’s “Talk Like Sex”
Kwame’s “Ownlee Eue (Reprise)”
Louise’s “Beautiful Inside”
Michael Jackson’s “Blood on the Dancefloor”
Mr. X & Mr. Z’s “Respect”
NWA’s “Real Niggaz Don’t Die”
Poison Clan’s “Jeri Curl”
Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet”
Rodney O & Joe Cooley’s “Wake up New York”
Scarface’s “Mr. Scarface”
Style’s “The Assassinator”
TLC’s “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg”
Tupac’s “Nuthin’ But Love”
West Coast Rap All Stars’s “We’re All in the Same Gang”
Whodini’s “Funky Beat”
Wu-Tang Clan’s “Shame on a Nigga”
Yomo & Maulkie’s “Mockingbird”
Young Black Teenagers’s “Sweatin’ Me”
Zhigge’s “Toss it Up”

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PS Head over to Iron Leg for some cool pop from an unusual, yet familiar source.

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By Larry, January 6, 2011 3:18 pm

Miss Lorna Bennett

Listen/Download – Lorna Bennett – Breakfast In Bed

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace

Larry

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

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By Larry, January 4, 2011 4:10 pm

Vernon Garrett

Listen/Download – Vernon Garrett & Marie Franklin – Second To None

Greetings all.

I hope all is groovy on your segment of the sphere.

I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things, following a long and snow-infested Christmas break, during which the fam and I were literally trapped in the house for a few days. It’s not that we don’t enjoys each other’s company, but when the food and beverage choices start moving into crisis mode (what can you make from a can of tomato soup and a pack of instant rice) folk’s nerves start to get on edge.

Fortunately we were eventually plowed out and took a drive up to visit my in-laws, located much further north, and (oddly enough) under a whole lot less snow.

I did manage to get in a digging session, in what used to be one of my favorite ‘road’ spots. Unfortunately it looks like the place has changed ownership and I walked out of the store with every good record in the place, all eight of them.

It was mostly unusual rock stuff, but there were a couple of nice soulful selections as well, so all is well.

I should mention again that I’ll be taking part in the Spindletop night with DJ Perry Lane next Monday night, beginning at 10PM at Botanica, 47 East Houston Street (between Mulberry and Mott) in New York City. Expect all manner of Hammond grooves, Mod soul, International au go go goodies etc.

The tune I bring you today is yet another gem from the stash that keeps on giving.

As mentioned in this space many times, some years back my father-in-law came upon a deposit of several thousand 45s, which he was kind enough to procure on my behalf. Though I made several passes through the crates over the last five or six years, there are still a few stacks left that I head back to now and then, and as luck would have it, they still yield some goodies every once in a while (this being one of them).

I have to admit that before I heard Vernon Garrett and Marie Franklin’s ‘Second To None’ I didn’t know much about the Venture label, other than Calvin Arnold’s ‘Funky Way’ from 1967.

The label was founded when Mickey Stevenson (and his wife Kim Weston) left Motown and relocated to the West Coast in the mid-60s. The pair hooked up with MGM Records, which established Venture as a soul subsidiary*.

Though the label didn’t produce many hits, there were a number of solid artists on its roster, including Larry Williams, The Mighty Hannibal and the Ballads.

The raging ‘Second to None’, heard here in a duet with Vernon Garrett and Marie Franklin, was originally recorded as a solo by Garrett in 1968 as the first of his three 45s for the label.

Garrett had been recording since the early-50s, waxing gospel, R&B, duets with his wife Jewel (who died in the late 60s), and as a solo for a wide variety of labels like Kent, Venture, Watts USA, Gator and ICA.

Marie Franklin is even more of a mystery. After her duet with Garrett, she recorded at least one 45 for Tangerine, as well as the killer ‘You Ain’t Changed’ for Maverick.

‘Second To None’ is a rock solid, right on the edge of out and out funk 45, with heavy guitar and fantastic vocal interplay between Garrett and Franklin. Both singers have especially raw, soul-shouting voices and it pains me to think that they didn’t go on to record more as duet partners.

The tune was written by Darryl Carter, Dick Cooper and Ernie Shelby, with Carter (as a solo) and Shelby (as a member of the Seven Souls) both having recorded for Venture.

Interestingly, the flipside of ‘Second to None’, ‘Without You’ hit the R&B Top 40 in 1969.

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

Peace

Larry

*There were also a couple of rock bands on the label, including the 49^th Parallel and Southwind

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By Larry, January 2, 2011 4:59 pm

Dean Courtney

Listen/Download – Dean Courtney – We Have a Good Thing

Greetings all, and Happy New Year

How’s about we get the Funky16Corners juggernaut rolling again with a very tasty bit of Northern Soul?

Before we get started I have to let you know that our sister blog, Iron Leg, where the sounds of 60s garage, psyche and pop are discussed returns to new posts today, so head on over there for a searing garage punk cover of a classic soul 45.

Also very important to note, I’ll be taking part in the Spindletop night with DJ Perry Lane next Monday night, beginning at 10PM at Botanica, 47 East Houston Street (between Mulberry and Mott)  in New York City. They have a very groovy thing going there so come on down to soak up the Hammond 45s, soul jazz and other swinging sounds.

I have to begin by admitting that within my Northern Soul infatuation, there was a time when somewhere, locked deep in my mind, I conflated the existence of two separate singers, Dean Parrish, and Dean Courtney into one person.

This is not to say that I ever had any evidence that this was in fact the case, but rather my dilapidated, overworked mind (I think it has poorly lit hallways like an abandoned building) took two people with the same first name, who were both soul singers, and stapled them together (though I suppose mixing him up with Lou Courtney would have made more sense).

This probably had something to do with the fact that both of these singers made records that are verily worshipped on the Northern scene.

That silliness out of the way, Dean Courtney’s ‘We Have a Good Thing’ is without question a fantastic record.

Courtney was an Alabama native who did most of his recording in New York City for RCA and MGM.
‘We Have a Good Thing’ was the top side of his first RCA 45 in 1966.

One of the things that drew me into Northern Soul is the fact that so many of the records, while ostensibly ‘soul’ sides, also have a serious pop underpinning. This is part and parcel of the Motown-worship that inspired the creation of so many of them, and yet another painful reminder of the uncertainty of the marketplace when you consider how many of the classics of the genre were utter commercial failures (thus the rarity).

According to Dave Ferguson’s comprehensive overview of the career of arranger Jimmy Wisner (in the March 2007 issue of There’s That Beat), ‘We Have a Good Thing’ was co-written by Dean Courtney, despite being credited solely to John T. Mack.

The arrangement by Wisner is the epitome of stylish, danceable soul. Opening with rock solid drums, and marked by a descending rhythm guitar line, Courtney delivers the verse in a velvety tenor. The melody is filled with hooks, and the addition of backing harmonies, restrained strings and vibes fleshes things out nicely.

Despite it’s 1966 release date, ‘We Have a Good Thing’ didn’t enter the Northern canon until the mid-70s.

I also have to note that this 45 also has the greatest span between physical appearance and actual playability of any record I own (and I have a grip of water damaged 45s from a certain Philadelphia basement). Fortunately there was a nice scan of the 45 in ‘There’s That Beat’ that allowed me to get the label info.

Courtney still performs today, and has traveled to the UK for appearances on the Northern scene.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll be back later in the week with something cool.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, December 21, 2010 12:19 pm

Merry Christmas, Godfather!

Listen/Download – James Brown – It’s Christmas Time Pt1

Greetings all.

I hope everyone that is in the Christmas groove, is ready for the holiday.

It behooves me to mention that if you find yourself snuggled up in front of a roaring internet this Friday night at 9PM, you might tune in to Viva Radio and dig the Funky16Corners Radio Christmas Special, featuring an hour of the finest funk and soul in the holiday spirit.

The tune I bring you today is fitting for a couple of reasons.

I remember the Christmas day for years ago when I heard that the mighty James Brown had that very morning slipped the surly bonds of earth and passed on into the great, funky beyond.

James Brown was a towering figure in the history of soul music, and especially important (so much so as to have been indispensable) in the development of funk.

Funky16Corners marked his passing then, and we do so again this year with one of the more mellow, sentimental numbers from his catalog.

‘It’s Christmas Time Pt1’ was released in 1969, and is notable for its subdued, almost hymn-like vibe.
Recorded at the peak of his funky powers, the song sees the Godfather of Soul working in a ballad style, backed only by guitar, bass, organ and the sparest of drums.

So much holiday funk and soul is in an upbeat, often humorous style, it’s nice to hear one of the giants take it at a mellow pace.

I hope you dig it, raise a glass of egg-nog in memory of Soul Brother Number One, and that you all have a great Christmas weekend.

I’m taking the rest of the week off to be festive, but I’ll be back next week with a year-end wrap up mix.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, December 19, 2010 4:47 pm

Harvey Averne

Listen/Download – Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get It Together This Christmas

Greetings all.

Christmas week has finally arrived, and so, as is the custom, have some funky and soulful holiday 45s.

I managed to get in a nice dig/hang this weekend down at the world famous Asbury Lanes where I managed to grab some excellent records (both the 45 and LP varieties) and meet up with some of my old mod scene compadres (Mr Luther and Mick) as well as AP45 Sessions’ very own DJ Prime Mundo. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I’ve made mention of the fact that I have never been a big collector of holiday music, Don’t get me wrong – I dig the jingle bells and the ho ho ho and what not – but with rare exception (generally the records that I feature here around Christmas time) I don’t go out of my way to add this kind of stuff to my record box.

Occasionally – as is the case with the Soulful Strings Christmas LP – such a record dovetails nicely with an existing obsession. Sometimes, as was the case with Clarence Carter’s ‘Backdoor Santa’, we might be talking about a record that kicks ass solidly despite the fact that it’s aimed at a Yuletide audience.

This week I’ll be bringing you two great holiday selections (Monday and Wednesday) and then taking the rest of the week off to enjoy the holiday with the fam.

I wouldn’t leave you hanging though, so make sure you tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show this Friday at 9PM, Christmas Eve for the first annual Funky16Corners Radio Christmas Special, for an hour of the coolest funk and soul sounds for the holiday. You’ll hear the Soulful Strings, Clarence Carter, James Brown and many, many more.

The tune I bring you today is nice but of funky Latin soul by the mighty Harvey Averne.

Averne was – like his bandmate and fellow Latin music legend Larry Harlow – a non-Hispanic (both men were Jewish) who played a big role in the history of the storied Fania label.

Averne, a vibraphonist, got his start under the name Arvito and his Latin Orchestra, playing during the 50s mambo craze, eventually taking over a band that included Harlow on piano.

He had a great deal of success as a musician (and in the construction business) but had probably his most important role as the mad behind the day to day operations of Fania.

Hired by label owner Jerry Masucci, Averne worked at Fania as musician, producer (of Ray Barretto’s ‘Acid’ LP among many other classics) and A&R man.

Oddly enough, his first record, among them the boogaloo classics ‘The Micro Mini’ and ‘You’re No Good’ were released on the Atlantic label, with Averne eventually having a bunch if stuff released on Fania and its Uptite subsidiary.

The tune I bring you today ‘Let’s Get It Together This Christmas’ is a funky mover, with the punchy bass, the jingling jingle bells, and an upbeat message for the season.

I haven’t been able to nail down a release date, but the catalog number would suggest something in the area of 1969 or 1970.

The flip side is a an otherwise groovy version of ‘The Christmas Song’, marred by the ‘contributions’ of a barking dog (who gets credit on the label!).

‘Let’s Get It Together This Christmas’ was also included on the excellent ‘In The Christmas Groove’ comp.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back with something mellow on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, December 16, 2010 12:24 pm

The Kelly Brothers performing on The Beat

Listen/Download – The Kelly Brothers – Crystal Blue Persuasion

Greetings all.

It’s the end of another week, and I’ve been a busy fella.

I’ll assume that some of you already know this, but the Funky16Corners blog was preceded, or more accurately grew out of the Funky16Corners web zine. I published the first issue online in 2000, after 15 years of doing paper fanzines on a variety of topics.

Though my web skills were rudimentary at best, I thought it would be cool to be able to write about funk and soul, include color pictures, and have it all up on the interwebs where anyone with a computer and access, anywhere in the world could check it out.

I did thirteen issues of the web zine before switching over to the blog format, and though I haven’t updated the site in almost five years, I maintained it so that people could access the various articles and discographies.

Unfortunately, due to some poor planning on my part, and switching/upgrading computers a few times since then, I did not have access to the site I had built. In fact, when I finally resurrected the old computer where I thought I had it stored, I realized that what I had was an older, incomplete version of the zine that was missing the last three issues.

What I wanted to do was get the files and upload them to the same server where I keep the blog.
This turned out to be quite the production, since I had to download the three missing issues (and all the attending artwork) from one server, weave them together with the files I had, and then upload the whole shebang. This involved work that was both painfully complicated and monotonous, but since I have no one to blame but myself for the mess it had become, I can’t really complain.

That all said, the move is finally complete. For those of you that were linked to www.funky16corners.net , aside from a few minor cosmetic changes, the transition should be flawless. If you haven’t been to the webzine, you can click on the link in the sidebar and check it out. Once you’re there, make sure to click on the ‘Archived Issues’ link to access all the older content.

Be forewarned that there are a couple of pages with formatting problems that I’ll have to correct over the coming weeks, but nothing that should prevent you from reading it.

I will be updating some of the articles for both factual and cosmetic reasons, and may even generate some new, long-form content.

I would also at some point like to redo the entire look of the site, so that you don’t have to deal with the existing colored type on black background theme, but like everything else, that will have to be added to the to-do list, and will be taken care of as time allows.

I should also take this opportunity to remind you all that this Friday night at 9PM you should fall by Viva Radio to check out the latest installment of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. This week (12/17) is an all Philly Funk 45 special, and next week (12/24) is the first annual Funky16Corners Radio Show Christmas special, featuring all kinds of groovy funk and soul in the holiday spirit.

Next week I’ll be posting a couple of nice Christmas 45s, so make sure to stop by for that.

The tune I bring you today is a very nice cover of a very well known song, by a group that until recently I knew nothing about.

I can’t recall where I first heard the Kelly Brothers version of ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion’, but I do know that I dug it because I went in search of my own copy. That search ended earlier this year when I did a DJ set at the Washington DC Record Fair and found a mint copy sitting in a box between two extremely rare (and well out of my price range) soul 45s.

The Kelly Brothers got their start recording gospel in the mid-50s. Between 1956 and 1962 they recorded gospel for the VeeJay, Nashboro and Federal labels. They changed their name to the King Pins, and switched to recording secular soul in 1963, remaining with Federal.

They moved to the Sims label from 1964 to 1967, eventually landing at Excello, which is where they recorded today’s selection in 1969.

The original recording of the tune by Tommy James and the Shondells was a huge hit earlier in 1969.

The Kelly Brothers were hardly alone in their migration between the sacred and the profane. Countless soul artists got their start singing and recording gospel, and there were other artists – the Staple Singers come to mind – that passed back and forth between the genres.

The brothers (Curtis, Andrew and Robert Kelly) along with TC Lee and Offie Reese put the powerful harmonies they learned in church to good use during their soul period. There’s a great video them performing their 1966 Sims 45 ‘I’m Falling In Love Again’ on the Nashville-based TV show The Beat.

The group’s version of ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion’ adds a great soulful edge to the pop classic, with the rhythm guitar and piano playing off of each other, horns, organ and some powerful drumming as well. I love the way the Kelly Brothers kick up the tempo and lay on the harmony. I’ve always enjoyed the Tommy James original (one of the first songs I remember really well from my childhood) but it seems anemic in comparison to this version.

Interestingly, the song has long been rumored to have a religious underpinning, though a glance at the lyrics reveals that there is at least as much late 60s hippie vibe in the mix.

There’s also a great comp of the Kelly Brothers soulful stuff from their time at the Sims label at Amazon.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all next week for the holiday festivities.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, December 14, 2010 2:51 pm

Calender

Listen/Download – Calender – Hypertension Pt1
Listen/Download – Calender – Hypertension Pt2

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today is a little bit of stylish, late period New Jersey funk.

Back about a year or so ago, when I pulled this 45 out of a box at a record show, I grabbed it because the label was familiar (and from NJ).

I’d never heard of the group, but I figured (as I often do) that all signs pointed to ‘cool’, and the price was right, so I took it home.

When I finally got a chance to put it on the turntable I was pleased.

Though the group, Calender, was a complete mystery, the song ‘Hypertension Pts 1&2’ turned out to be an extremely cool number from the era when funk was on a speeding train to Disco City.

This is not to say that the tune itself is actually disco, but that it comes from a period where the artists and producers were clearly less interested in crafting a short, one-sided 45 statement than they were in stretching things out so that the dancers might have some time to get down.

Since the group name and song title led only to various sites concerned with high blood pressure, I decided to search on some of the names on the label, which turned up some interesting info.

The tune was written and produced by Paul Kyser, a Jersey City, NJ based record man who had his biggest successes with Jimmy Briscoe and the Little Beavers, a teenaged funk band from Baltimore, MD who had a number of hits in the mid-70s.

Kyser had his own label, Kyser Records in the 60s, recording Robby Lawson among others. He also worked with the Soul Generation, Super Disco Band, and Rhyze (formerly known as the Nu Sound Express, who recorded two excellent funk 45s for Silver Dollar), who had a minor hit with the tune ‘Just How Sweet Is Your Love’ in 1980.

‘Hypertension’ is a great slice of sophisticated, string laden funk in the style of B.T. Express. There’s more than enough real musicianship in the grooves, but enough grooves in the playing to get people out on the dance floor. The production and arrangement by Kyser is perfect; smooth but never slick. There are bits of synthesizer here and there, but they never overpower the band. Make sure to stick around for Part 2, which features some great flute work.

The group included two sets of brothers, John and Michael Barbee and Gerry and Hurley Fair, as well as Stanley Haygood, William Jones and Donna Ahjuder, and recorded this 45 (in 1975) and an LP called ‘It’s a Monster’ for Pi Kapp in 1976 with all songs either written or co-written by the group, Kyser and his frequent writing partner Leon Stuckey.

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

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, December 9, 2010 2:46 pm

Isaac Redd Holt & Eldee Young

Listen/Download – Young-Holt Unlimited – Horoscope

Greetings all.

I hope the end of the week finds you well.

It’s been a busy one hereabouts, with the kids, and the errands and Hanukkah ending and Christmas coming and jeebus knows what else going on.

This is the part of Friday’s post where I pause for my regularly scheduled reminder that the Funky16Corners Radio Show will be airing, as is the custom, Friday night at 9PM. There will be some old favorites, a couple of new arrivals and some groovy stuff out of the archives, so if you have your ears pointed at the interwebs this Friday night, make sure to point the browser of your choice at Viva Radio and tune in. If you are otherwise occupied, you can always come by the blog over the weekend and pull down the ones and zeros, since every single episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show is promptly digimatized and posted at the blog after it airs.

I thought I had the whole week planned out, but when I sat down to write today’s post, I had a change of heart, and went back into the to-be-blogged folder to see what tickled my fancy. After some deliberation, I saw that I had no less than three very groovy tracks from the Young-Holt organization waiting to go, all funky, all very groovy.

This of course opened up a whole new can of worms, since I didn’t want to post all three at the same time. Despite all stories to the contrary, the Funky16Corners record vault is not six stories deep with an endless supply of vinyl, and things need to be parceled out gradually.

I gave the matter some consideration, and settled upon the 45 you see before you today, Young-Holt Unlimited’s ‘Horoscope’.

I don’t recall where I came across this disc, or where I first heard it.

It’s entirely possible that I bought it sight unheard, since I’ve come to the conclusion that Young-Holt are verily the gift that keeps on giving. They were not only prolific, but their catalog – like the many petals of the lotus – unfolds to reveal more and more funky 45s at every turn.

Here you have two journeyman jazz cats – pianist Eldee Young and drummer Isaac Redd Holt – who made their bones with the mighty Ramsey Lewis, with the 1965 hit ‘The In Crowd’ (currently being used in TV ads in furtherance of the execrable Ashton Kutcher industry). They parlayed it into their own career, eventually hitting the charts with one of the best loved soul instrumentals of the 60s, ‘Soulful Strut’ (ironically, a record they are rumored not to have actually played on).

Over the course of the next decade they would go on to release ten albums (for Brunswick, Cotillion and Paula) and over a dozen singles, all taking the concept of soul jazz and flipping the formula. The music they would create would prove to be commercial (if not commercially successful) while still substantial, formulaic without being boring and much more soulful than that of a lot of their similarly labeled contemporaries.

I always find it odd that for a group that was obviously selling a lot of records, Young-Holt Unlimited didn’t really have much in the way of chart success. ‘Soulful Strut’ was a Pop and R&B hit in 1968, but they would only hit the R&B chart two other times, earlier in 1968 with ‘Wack Wack’ and barely scraping the Top 50 with ‘Just a Melody’ n 1969.

Yet the more I dig, especially into their later Cotillion and Paula periods (1970 to 1975) the more quality stuff I discover.

Today’s selection hails from 1969, at the very end of their time with the Brunswick label, just before their move to Cotillion.

‘Horoscope’ features funky piano and bright horns, and a shouted run (credited, hysterically as ‘Narration by Isaac Holt’) through the zodiac, hitting on all the signs, ex.Virgo (‘The virgin! Ha ha, you gotta be kidding!’), as well as timely references to the Age of Aquarius and Hair (“and NO CLOTHES!!”).

The tune was written by Young, Holt and their pianist at the time, Ken Chaney (who replaced Hysear Don Walker when the group morphed from the Young Holt Trio into Young Holt Unlimited).

They’ve appeared here a bunch of times, with individual tracks and in mixes, as long as I keep digging their stuff they’ll continue to do so.

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

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, December 7, 2010 2:03 pm

The Oneness of Juju

Listen/Download – Oneness of Juju – African Rhythms Pt1
Listen/Download – Oneness of Juju – African Rhythms Pt2

Greetings all.
I don’t know about where you folks live, but things got awfully cold, awfully quickly around here.

It’s nothing like the weird snow-fucking that our friends in the UK are getting, but cold enough that I have to make sure the little corners are all bundled up when they trot out the door, and I might add, at the point where I am contemplating putting the fireplace into use.

I’m also perched by the mailbox waiting for a couple of exceptional vinyl acquisitions to arrive, one of them taking its sweet time (apparently) swimming here from the EU. I was lucky enough to grab a couple of longtime want list items at reasonable prices, so as soon as they fall through the mail slot, and I get them digimatized, you’ll see them here and hear them on the Funky16Corners Radio Show.

Speaking of seemingly unobtainable items, allow me to take you back a little over a year to March of 2009, when my man DJ Prestige and I packed up the Funky16Corners-mobile and headed down to DC and RVA to do our DJ thing, and naturally get in some out of town digging.

While we were in DC, the mighty DJ Birdman took us to a couple of sweet spots, one of which yielded two copies of the 1975 LP by Oneness of Juju (one each for Prestige and Birdman). I was pissed I hadn’t found it first (who wouldn’t be?), but happy to see my buddies make such a good score.

Flash forward a bit to my next trip down to DC in July of last year where I did a couple of gigs with Birdman (including an allnighter at Marvin), around which were scheduled even more digs. Part of our trip involved a run down to Richmond, which included a stop at the storied Plan 9 record store.

As expected, there was a veritable sea of vinyl to be perused, but I had been instructed to inquire of the man behind the counter whether or not he might have some of the “good stuff” held off to the side.

Now, as any seasoned digger will tell you, not every record store is likely to have a box or two of special stuff set aside, and among those that do, some of the special stuff isn’t all that special, it’s just expensive.

So, having already grabbed an armload of 45s and LPs, I asked to see the good stuff, and spent the next half hour or so checking it out on the store turntable.

Though there was a lot of interesting stuff, not much of it was grabbing me, until I got to the bottom of the stack and saw something that set my Spidey sense a-tingling, that being a 45 of the Oneness of Juju performing ‘African Rhythms’.

I had heard, and dug this tune on a CD comp of Afro-funk a few years before, and knew the band had a Richmond connection, but I don’t think I expected a copy of the 45 to fall into my sweaty hands.

After a bit of haggling (which didn’t amount to much, since I’m such a shitty haggler) I added the 45* to my keeper stack and took it home.

The group has it’s roots in mid-60s New York City, where saxophonist Plunky Nkabinde (aka J. Plunky Branch), a native of Richmond, VA went to college, met bassist/singer Ken Shabala and formed a band called the Soul Syndicate.

In the late 60s, the pair moved to San Francisco and joined Ndikho Xaba (one of many South African expatrites who came to the US to make music in the 60s) in the group Ndikho and the Natives.

Two years later, along with vibist Lon Moshe they left and formed the avant garde group Juju.

Over the next few years Juju recorded a few albums of Afro jazz (one for Strata East), eventually moving to Richmond, VA in 1974.

The group reconstituted, physically (with personnel changes) and artistically (with a much funkier vibe) and was rechristened as the Oneness of Juju. They became a big draw in and around Washington, DC, playing with many of the big local acts, as well as touring artists.

The Oneness of Juju recorded their eponymous LP (on the Black Fire label), which included ‘African Rhythms’ in 1975, and featuring their new vocalist Lady Eka-Ete.

The 45 edit of ‘African Rhythms’ opens with a tight breakbeat** (courtesy of another Richmond native, Ronnie Toler). The bass, guitar and saxophone weave in and out of the percussion before that band starts to chant the title of the song.

Over the course of more than seven minutes, you get a real taste of the unique combination of sounds that the Oneness of Juju could produce. Not only do you get a tune with enough contemporary funk energy to get people out onto the dance floor, but there is also the jazz edge the band brought with them from their previous incarnation.

The next 30 years saw the group become a free-flowing entity, morphing in both personnel and style, always led by Plunky, who in addition to performing also taught music in public schools and at the university level, as well as traveling to Africa. They recorded as Plunky and Oneness, as well as providing backing on Plunky’s numerous solo recordings.

They really represent a remarkable bit of musical history (which can be read in much greater detail at their web site) that would probably make an incredible book.

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

Peace

Larry

*Despite its visually pristine condition, the 45 has some background noise which is especially obvious during the beginning and end of each side. My apologies for the crackle…

**The record was sampled by Quasimoto among others

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By Larry, December 2, 2010 12:33 pm

The Sweet Delights

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

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace

Larry

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

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Comments (2)

By Larry, November 30, 2010 4:02 pm

James Brown – tickling the ivorys (or whatever organ keys were made out of)

Listen/Download – The Poets – Devil’s Den Pt1
Listen/Download – The Poets – Devil’s Den Pt2

Greetings all.

How – as they say on the streets – is it hanging?

I am, once again, nursing a bad back, which is a fucking hoot.

It’s not really all that tragic. I’ve known people who have real, serious problems with their back (like my Pop) who make my problems look insignificant, but it is uncomfortable, and inconvenient, so to paraphrase the man we come to discuss today, ‘Let a man come in and do the “Oh shit my back hurts”.

Before we get rolling, I should note that the all new, all fabulous Funky16Corners stickers have arrived. If you wish to obtain one, and you live in the US, send me a self addressed stamped envelope (to Funky16Corners c/o Grogan, 80 New Brunswick Ave, Brick, NJ 08724 USA) and I’ll shoot one your way. If you live elsewhere in the universe, send me a self addressed envelope (I’ll cover the postage since I don’t want to get into any crazy stuff with postal coupons or foreign currency) and you’ll get one too. You folks have all been so groovy with your continued support of the Funky16Corners organization, it’s the least I can do.

The 45 I bring you today is another one of those records I knew of for many years before it and I came together at a record show.

I mean, how can you not be intrigued by a record by the Poets, named ‘Devil’s Den’?

I was, and when I pulled it out of a big box of cheap 45s, and saw the James Brown-y markings on the label, my interest was further piqued and I took it home.

At first listen, I was a tiny bit confused, since for some reason I recalled hearing that ‘Devil’s Den’ was a funk 45 (perhaps someone making a JB conflation), which it is not, but since it is an old school organ burner, I dug it all the more.

Some years back I did a longer piece about James Brown’s dalliance with the Hammond organ (you can read it here), but at the time I had no idea that the Poets 45 was part of the legacy.

I use the word ‘dalliance’, because the Hammond was clearly a sideline for JB, and just as clearly, while his playing had a certain loose charm, he was no virtuoso.

That said, given the right material, the mighty Mr. Brown was able to make the gigantic box of wood and wires sing, and ‘Devil’s Den’ is an example of such a piece.

Recorded in 1963 (a few years prior to his organ sojourn at the Smash label), ‘Devil’s Den’, had its labels not carried the writing and producing credits to James Brown, might not indicate that the Godfather of Soul had any involvement, were it not for a telltale scream at the 1:08 mark in part one, and a few interjections after that point.

The tune is a slow swinging blues with a beefy horn chart that has a serious late night, smoky bar feel to it. The backing band is the Famous Flames, and on some reissues the song is credited to the JB pseudonym ‘Ted Wright’.

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

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg