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By Larry, June 11, 2017 9:12 am

Listen/Download – James Duncan – I Got It Made (In the Shade) MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get rolling….

The Funky16Corners blogging experience has begun its transition into the (grandiosely named, but with tongue in cheek) Funky16Corners Radio Network!

The changes are as thus – The concentration of the operation will continue its shift to podcasting/radio, with the Funky16Corners Radio Show originating every week as a live broadcast, Thursday nights at 9PM Eastern on MIXLR, and will continue to be posted as a downloadable podcast every Friday, and broadcast in the UK on Cruising Radio.

The Iron Leg Radio Show will also move to a monthly live broadcast (day to be determined) also on MIXLR and will continue to be broadcast on Cruising Radio in the UK.

Actual written blogging will continue, but will likely be limited to one new post a week.

This year’s Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive will evolve into a Summer of Soul, with a new guest mix posted here (starting at the end of June) once a week, every week for the duration of the summer.

So dig in, join me on Thursday nights, and keep watching this space for further details.
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Today’s selection is something I picked up a couple of years ago after being tipped off to the fact that it shared a backing track with another record already residing in my crates.

James Duncan recorded a grip of 45s on his own and with the Duncan Trio for the King/Federal from 1964 on into the eary 70s.

His earlier stuff is features some amazing, raw vocals in a New Breed R&B style.

Today’s selection ‘I Got It Made (in the Shade)’ was released in 1970, and sees Mr Duncan inside a much funkier bag.

The tune opens with some wild, bow-legged, twangy guitar and tight drums, with Duncan singing over the top.

In and of itself, it is a fine funk 45 indeed.

That said, a year or two later, Hugh Boynton made his way up to Macon, GA (where the Duncan track has been recorded) and availed himself of the backing track for ‘I Got It Made (In the Shade)’, writing new lyrics and adding a new vocal (and giving himself writing credit)  rechristening the song as ‘The Funky Grasshopper’.

Neither record is particularly expensive, both hovering in the 25-30 dollar range. You can dig the Hugh Boynton side on Youtube.

I hope you dig the sounds.
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Don’t forget, my weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! is on the air live, every Wednesday night from 10-12. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. So tune in when you get a chance!
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Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too. <

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By Larry, June 4, 2017 10:52 am

Homer Banks

Listen/Download – Homer Banks – Round the Clock Lover Man MP3

Greetings all.

Changes are afoot!

Starting today, the Funky16Corners blogging experience begins its transition into the (grandiosely named, but with tongue in cheek) Funky16Corners Radio Network!

The changes are as thus – The concentration of the operation will continue its shift to podcasting/radio, with the Funky16Corners Radio Show originating every week as a live broadcast, Thursday nights at 9PM Eastern on MIXLR, and will continue to be posted as a downloadable podcast every Friday, and broadcast in the UK on Cruising Radio.

The Iron Leg Radio Show will also move to a monthly live broadcast (day to be determined) also on MIXLR and will continue to be broadcast on Cruising Radio in the UK.

Actual written blogging will continue, but will likely be limited to one new post a week.

This year’s Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive will evolve into a Summer of Soul, with a new guest mix posted here (starting at the end of June) once a week, every week for the duration of the summer.

So dig in, join me on Thursday nights, and keep watching this space for further details.

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Over the last five years or so, Homer Banks has become one of my all time favorite artists.

As both a performer and songwriter, Banks made some of the finest Memphis soul 45s of the 1960s.

He was a fine singer in the Southern soul tradition, and wrote some killer tunes, for himself as well as artists like the Mad Lads, Wilson Pickett, Johnnie Taylor, Sam and Dave and Jeanne and the Darlings.

Today’s selection was released in 1968 and has an interesting pedigree indeed.

‘Round the Clock Lover Man’ was written by Banks and Allen Jones, produced by Johnny Keyes and Packy Axton of the Packers/Pac-Keys and arranged by Keyes as well.

‘Round the Clock Lover Man’ finds Banks harmonizing with himself (I think) with an interesting melody, mid-tempo pace and carefully applied horns and piano.

It exists in a kind of odd gray area half a step up from ballads but not quite aggressive enough to be a dancer.

This doesn’t suggest that the quality isn’t first rate, but rather that the song is not easily pigeonholed.

It was the second-to-last of the singles in his 66-68 run with Minit.

As far as I know Banks work as a performer has yet to be gathered in one place and reissued, which is a damn shame as it’s all good.

I hope you dig the tune.

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My weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! is on the air live, every Wednesday night from 10-12. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. So tune in when you get a chance!
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Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too. <

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By Larry, May 28, 2017 10:19 am

Miss Mable John

Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time, Same Place

Eddie Jones – Let’s Stop Fooling Ourselves (Fairmount)
Andy Butler – Take Me (TRC)
Mable John – Same Time Same Place (Stax)
Steve Colt and the 45s – So far Away (RCA)
Vanguards – Somebody Please (Whiz)
Invincibles – Heart Full of Love(WB)
Tyrone Davis – Knock On Wood (Dakar)
Barbara Perry – Unlovable (Goldwax)
Ike and Tina Turner – Too Many Ties That Bind (Minit)
Carl Hall – You Don’t Know Nothing About Love (Loma)
Gloria Jones – When He Touches Me (Minit)
Soul Brothers Six – Somebody Else Is Loving My Baby (Atlantic)
Jackie Verdell – I’m Your Girl (Decca)
Grover Mitchell with St John and the Cardinals – Sweeter As the Days Go By (Josie)
Homer Banks – Lady of Stone (Minit)
Johnny and the Expressions – Something I Want To Tell You (Josie)
McKinley Travis – Baby Is There Something On Your Mind (Soultown)
Soul Clan – That’s How I Feel (Atlantic)
Walter Scott and the Kapers – I Want To Thank You (Ivanhoe)
William Bell – You Don’t Miss Your Water (Stax)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time Same Place 110MB/Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

This begins a “best of” week here at Funky16Corners, devoted to classic ballad mixes from the past.

I am in the process of organizing this year’s Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive, as well as working on some crucial reorganization here and at Iron Leg.

Funky16Corners had been a going concern, from 2000 as a webzine, and then from 2004 on as a blog.

I started doing the Funky16Corners Radio Show back more than 8 years ago on Viva Radio, and when that stopped being viable, went independent as a podcast in 2010 (almost exactly seven years ago), and starting the Iron Leg Radio Show in May of 2011.

If you have been following the goings on hereabouts, you will have noticed that as of two weeks ago, I have commenced a live, weekly show called Testify! for WFMU”s Give the Drummer Radio.

The weeks spent assembling/configuring the home studio, and the freedom (literal and figurative) associated with doing live radio have moved me in the direction of some changes.

The first change, still conceptual but very likely to take form soon, will be to originate all of the podcasts as ‘live’ shows and then archiving them as podcasts to be downloaded/streamed at your leisure in the usual places, i.e. iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher etc.

The second change will be to limit the amount of actual ‘blogging’ published at Funky16Corners and Iron Leg, commencing the evolution from old-school blogs to a full scale podcasting/broadcasting outlet.

I have been giving a change of this nature quite a lot of thought over the years, especially because of the drastic reduction in blog traffic since the early days of the boom.

This is not to say that I don’t enjoy the written aspect of the blog, but that in my own heart, and seeming in the hearts of the audience, the audio end of things seems to have supplanted it.

I still have a lot of work to do, and will be applying myself to that work in earnest over the coming weeks.

I’m aiming for the launch of the 2017 Allnighter near the end of June, and will likely spread the launch of the mixes over a longer period of time, as well as reworking the fundraising aspect of the event.

As these things come into a finer focus I will communicate them to you here and on the various and sundry radio shows.

So, dig the mixes this week, keep your ears pointed toward all of the broadcasts, and I will keep you all in the loop.

KTF

Larry

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Speaking of original vinyl, the flow of it into the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault has continued unabated, and inside that tidal wave of wax has been a goodly amount of those classic soul ballads.

As a collector/appreciator, I came to the world of ballads fairly late in the game, but I have been making up for lost time.

So prodigious has been the accumulation, that I felt the time was right for a new ballad mix, so here it is.

There is a lot of southern soul in here, but also a couple of stylish west coast items, with stops in Chicago and Philadelphia as well.

As they say on the streets, ‘It’s all good’, but there are some highlights that bear mentioning.

You have to check out Andy Butler’s very groovy take on Bobby Womack’s ‘Take Me’, hardcore honky Steve Colt’s old-school JB-isms in ‘So Far Away’, the lo-fi, gospel-inflected perfection of the Invincibles’ ‘Heart Full of Love’, Ike and Tina bringing it on the b-side with ‘Too Many Ties That Bind’, Carl Hall’s epic ‘You Don’t Know Nothing About Love’, Gloria Jones covering Rodge Martin’s ‘When He Touches Me’, the mighty Soul Clan and ‘That’s How I Feel’ and reliably genius contributions from Mable John, Homer Banks, the Soul Brothers Six, Grover Mitchell, William Bell and many more.

What you get here is ‘Funky16Corners Presents: Same Time, Same Place’, an hour of the finest soulful pleading, shouting and wailing, reaching back into the amen corner, and out into heartbreak alley.

I’ve been spinning this one non-stop since putting it together, so you know it’ll be good.

I hope you dig it (spread the word), and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 25, 2017 12:45 pm

Pervis Staples and Carla Thomas

Listen/Download – Pervis Staples and Carla Thomas – It’s Unbelievable (How You Control My Soul) MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday with finest in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the Stitcher and TuneIn apps. Check it out on Mixcloud, or gran yourselves an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com

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I am in the process of gearing up for this year’s fundraiser, as well as a reassessment of blogging/podcasting workload.

All podcasts, Funky16Corners Radio Show, Iron Leg Radio Show and my weekly live bag, Testify! on WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio will continue going forward.

The actual written end of the blogs may undergo some truncation to accommodate the increased production schedule.

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We close out the week with the groovy version of song first recorded by Jeanne and the Darlings (on Volt) in 1968.

This version of the song ‘It’s Unbelievable (How You Control My Soul)’ was recorded by the duet of Pervis Staples and Carla Thomas as part of the massive (and quite good) Stax project ‘Boy Meets Girl’, issued as a 2-LP set in 1969 and featuring the cream of the Stax/Volt stable.

Most of the duet pairings were new, i.e. no long standing pairings were included, but the results were always interesting.

Both Pervis and Carla were second-generation singers, Pervis as part of the Staple Singers (along side his father Roebuck, aka Pops, and his sisters Mavis, Cleotha and Yvonne) and Carla the daughter of Stax legend Rufus Thomas.

It’s interesting to hear Pervis outside of the framework of the Staples sound, and to realize how mush his voice sounds like his father.

Carla, of course, had had solo hits prior to this session, and had duetted with both her father and the mighty Otis Redding.

Their version of ‘It’s Unbelievable…’ is very cool. The song was co-written by Homer Banks (a big fave hereabouts) and Don Davis, and the session was co-produced by Davis and Al Bell.

The sound is a little more restrained than the Jeanne and the Darlings version (also produced by Davis), but I attribute that to the difference in the vocals, which are much harder-edged in the latter.

The pair duet on one other song (‘I’m Crying’) and participate in the group opening of ‘Soul-a-Lujah’.

That said, it is an excellent number, and I recommend the ‘Boy Meets Girl’ LP very highly. The original vinyl isn’t terribly expensive or hard to find, and some of the CD reissues truncate the track list significantly.

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

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 23, 2017 12:22 pm

Clyde McPhatter

Listen/Download – Clyde McPhatter – A Shot of Rhythm and Blues MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get rolling….

My new weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! had it’s inaugural episode last Wednesday and is archived over there. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. I’ll be on the air every Wednesday night (tomorrow!) from 10-12, live, so tune in when you get a chance!
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I am endlessly fascinated with artists who are associated with the earlier days of R&B who continued to make music (often overlooked or forgotten) well into the classic soul era.

Today’s performer is a great example thereof.

Clyde McPhatter sang with Billy Ward and the Dominoes, was a founding member of the Drifters and had a string of solo hits stretching from 1955 to 1965 (though most of those fell between 55 and 61).

Though he dropped off the charts for good in 1965, he continued to record well into the 70s for a variety of labels (his great cover of ‘In My Tenement’ appeared her a while back).

Today’s selection hails from a brief run (1966-1967) that McPhatter had with the Amy label.

His smoking cover of Arthur Alexander’s classic ‘A Shot of Rhythm and Blues’ (a landmark of early soul which became something of a Beat group standard in the UK) was recorded in Muscle Shoals with Rick Hall at the board, and it shows.

Opening with rock solid drums and horns, McPhatter drops in followed by guitar and bass and a groovy combo organ and he is joined in the chorus by female backing singers.

It’s a great update of the tune, and packs plenty of soul power, which is why it’s so disappointing to see that it doesn’t appeared to have gained an audience anywhere, even regionally.

Perhaps audiences associated McPhatter with an earlier style/sound, but someone missed the boat by not promoting the 45, since it sits right up there with pretty much anything else coming out of the Southern soul sound at the time.

An object lesson is keeping your ears (and mind) open.

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

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 21, 2017 10:38 am

Harvey Scales and the Seven Sounds

Listen/Download – Harvey Scales and the Seven Sounds – The Yolk MP3

Listen/Download – Harvey Scales and the Seven Sounds – The Funky Yolk MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get rolling….

My new weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! had it’s inaugural episode last Wednesday and is archived over there. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. I’ll be on the air every Wednesday night from 10-12, live, so tune in when you get a chance!
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Hows about we start the week with the musical defibrillation of Harvey Scales and the Seven Sounds?

I forget where I picked up on this particular 45, but Harvey and his Sounds have popped up in this spot on numerous occasions, in posts, mixes and on the radio show.

The group, based out of Milwaukee, WI released a number of smoking 45s during the 60s (mostly on the local Magic Touch label) and Harvey himself doing 45s and LPs for labels like Casablanca through the disco era.

Today’s selection comes from a two single run for Chess in 1970. Both of the 45s originated with their local operation in Milwaukee, having been produced (and cowritten) by Magic Touch owner Lennie LaCour.

What you get here are variations on a theme, that being the Yolk, which appears (an assumption based solely on anecdotal, record collector information) to have been a dance of some kind.

‘The Yolk’ and its continuation ‘The Funky Yolk’ are both fine examples of prime, late 60s/early 70s kick-ass funk, and are among the finest things Harvey and the Sounds ever laid down. They are both packed from end to end with blazing horns, Harvey’s fine singing and some pounding drums. ‘The Yolk’ is your basic statement, with ‘The Funky Yolk’ following as a more heavily instrumental continuation.

I don’t recall dropping a lot of dough on this smoker, but Popsike seems to indicate that it has been changing hands for north of 50 bucks, often close to (or over) 100, and considering the heat contained in the grooves, it’s worth every penny.

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

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, May 18, 2017 10:33 am

Nolan Porter

Listen/Download – Nolan Porter – If I Could Only Be Sure MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so I will remind you once again to dig into the weekly celebration of all things soulful that is the Funky16Corners Radio Show. You ccan subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, follow it in Stitcher and TuneIn, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com
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In related news, my new weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! had it’s inaugural episode last night and is archived over there. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. I’ll be on the air every Wednesday night from 10-12, live, so tune in when you get a chance!
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The track I bring you today is one of those examples of how if you wait long enough, the record gods will smile on you, even if it’s only for a moment.

‘If I Could Only Be Sure’ by Nolan Porter is a fairly costly 45, thanks to its rarity, as well as its embrace by the Northern Soulies and other collector cadres. It has been known (in its promo form) to pull in several hundred dollars, and in its stock version well over a hundred dollars.

A while back I was on one of my periodic, online vinyl safaris, checking out the usual nooks and crannies/dealers etc, when what should I see in the ‘New Arrivals’ section but the copy of the record you see above, listed in VG condition, for twenty measly dollars.

I gave the matter about ten seconds of consideration before pulling the trigger, always in fear that someone else had spotted the record and was at the same time, attempting to purchase the very same copy.

As luck would have it, I was there first, and in a few short days the record slid through the mail slot and onto my turntable.

I have made a fairly regular practice of picking up harder to find things that are listed in slightly poorer condition (especially is the dealer is trustworthy and a good grader, as he was in this case) because more often than not, the record plays better than grade, and the savings are considerable. I’ve been exceptionally lucky in this regard, only having been burned a few times, and at five or ten dollars, it’s not taking much of a chance, all things considered.

The song itself is exceptionally haunting and unusual record, and in many ways atypical of a Northern Soul favorite, but so then is his other number that rings the bell with the soulies, the heavy ‘Keep On Keeping On’, which is as weird a “Northern” side (in a good way, as opposed to countless inexplicable novelties that have entered the canon) as you’ll find. It’s an interesting example of a transitional period on the UK dance floor and collector scene, moving away from the usual, classic 60s sound and indicating a broadening of the palate.

‘If I Could Only Be Sure’ approaches a mournful vibe, thanks in large part to the repeated guitar line, and several points where Porter flies into a pleading falsetto.

Porter’s albums are also very interesting because of the backing band, which included several members of the Little Feat/Mothers of Invention axis, including Lowell George, Richie Hayward, Jimmy Carl Black and Roy Estrada.

Original copies of the LP on which the track appeared, 1972’s ‘Nolan’ also command high prices, though both of his early 70s albums have been reissued.

It’s a spectacular track, and one that I find myself putting on a loop whenever I call it up.

I hope you dig it too, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 16, 2017 1:02 pm

Keith Mansfield (left) and Alan Hawkshaw

Listen/Download – Keith Mansfield and His Orchestra – Soul Confusion MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get started, just a reminder about some important news.

Starting this Wednesday, 5/17 from 10PM to 12, and every Wednesday going forward at that time I will be doing a new weekly show on the WFMU Give the Drummer Radio stream called Testify! This show (which had a couple of dry runs elsewhere, earlier on) will see yours truly in a more free-form bag, taking the worlds of Funky16Corners and Iron Leg and mashing them together, with soul, rock, funk, pop, garage, psyche, R&B, Now Sound, jazz and anything else I think sounds good. The show will originate live from the Funky16Corners Subterranean Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault, and will be archived thereafter.

So if your ears are free Wednesday night, turn them toward WFMU.org, click on the Give The Drummer stream and dig what it is that I am putting down.
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The track I bring you today is an old favorite, the flipside of which (the amazing ‘Boogaloo’ appeared in the eareliest incarnation of the blog 12 years ago!).

I have no idea why I waited so long to serve up the flip, but here it is.

Keith Mansfield was one of the great library masters on the UK scene, recording a grip of stuff for the storied KPM label as well as a number of mainstream releases under his own name.

Today’s selection has kind of an odd history.

‘Soul Confusion’ is a 45-only track, and was only released in the for you see today here in the US on an Epic promo.

In the UK the (same) track was billed under the name ‘Sugar with the Keith Mansfield Orchestra (Sugar being the vocalist, Sugar Simone who does not appear on the track) under a different title altogether, ‘11AM Tuesday Morning Taxi’ on CBS/UK. I have no idea why.

The other side of the US 45, ‘Boogaloo’ had appeared the year before on the excellent ‘All You Need Is Keith Mansfield’ LP, alongside the very groovy, breakbeat version of Mansfield’s oft covered ‘Soul Thing’.

‘Soul Confusion’, featuring (naturally) Hammond master Alan Hakshaw, is a funky, brassy groover with great rhythm guitar trading lines with the organ and hard hitting drums. There is a small drum break as well.

The 45 has gone up in price considerably since I found my copy (in the field, and on the cheap, luckily). Decent copies pull in between 75 and 100 dollars.

You can still get the LP (but no ‘Soul Confusion’, though the RPM/Retrodisc reissue from 2008 includes the track) at a much more reasonable price.

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

And, while you’re at it, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Keep the faith

Larry

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 14, 2017 9:45 am

Listen/Download – Dennis and the Supertones – Superman Lover MP3

Listen/Download – Dennis and the Supertones – Doin’ the Superman MP3

Greetings all.

Before we get started this week I have some important news.

Starting this Wednesday, 5/17 from 10PM to 12, and every Wednesday going forward at that time I will be doing a new weekly show on the WFMU Give the Drummer Radio stream called Testify! This show (which had a couple of dry runs elsewhere, earlier on) will see yours truly in a more free-form bag, taking the worlds of Funky16Corners and Iron Leg and mashing them together, with soul, rock, funk, pop, garage, psyche, R&B, Now Sound, jazz and anything else I think sounds good. The show will originate live from the Funky16Corners Subterranean Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault, and will be archived thereafter.

So if your ears are free Wednesday night, turn them toward WFMU.org, click on the Give The Drummer stream and dig what it is that I am putting down.
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The tracks I bring you today are yet another small, but groovy chapter in the very interesting career of Ed Townsend.

Townsend got his start as a hit singer in his own right, with ‘For Your Love’ in 1958, went on to write songs for Theola Kilgore (For the Love of My Man), later co-wrote ‘Let’s Get It On’ with Marvin Gaye, and in between was part of Perry and the Harmonics, and the group I bring you today, Dennis and the Supertones.

The group recorded only one 45 – ‘Superman Lover’ b/w ‘Doin’ the Superman’ – in 1963, and that, as they say, was that.

Both tunes (which are separated by a hair’s breadth of originality) lean heavily in the direction of the mighty Rivingtons (the “ZOOM ZOOM ZOOMS” are right out of he Papa Oom Mow Mow playbook) and are a very cool slice of R&B-going into-soul.

Interestingly enough, ‘Superman Lover’ was covered later that same year by a group called Andy and the Marglows (brothers Andy, Jimmy and Terry Huff) on Liberty.

It’s the kind of party-starting stuff that I dig the most, and I hope you dig it, too.

See you all on Wednesday.

And, while you’re at it, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 11, 2017 1:50 pm

(Everything I Do Is Funky Like) Lee Dorsey

Listen/Download – Lee Dorsey – Operation Heartache MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, which comes to you each and every Friday with the finest in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the Stitcher and TuneIn apps, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 at Funky16Corners.com

We close out New Orleans 45 week with a great one by Lee Dorsey.

Written, produced and arranged by the mighty Allen Toussaint, ‘Operation Heartache’ had a dual life, with releases (which share a backing track) by both Lee Dorsey (on Amy) and John Williams and the Tick Tocks (on Sansu).

Both versions were issued in 1966, but considering Dorsey’s prominence and hit-making track record, my assumption is that he had the initial release.

The record’s A-side ‘Holy Cow’ was a pretty big hit for Dorsey in the Fall of 1966, making it into the R&B Top 10 and grazing the Pop Top 20.
As far as I can tell ‘Operation Heartache’ didn’t hit the charts (even locally), which isn’t that odd.

Despite it’s high quality, ‘Operation Heartache’ has kind of an odd meter and melody. It’s a little slow for dancing, and clocks in at a hair over a minute and a half!

Dorsey’s vocal is typically excellent, and the arrangement, with a great horn section, accented by honking baritone sax, is very cool too.
If you are inclined to grab a copy for your playbox, you can have one for well below ten bucks any day of the week.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back next week with some more soul.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, May 7, 2017 10:25 am

Curley Moore

Listen/Download – Curley Moore – Sophisticated Sissy Pt1 MP3

Greetings all.

Thanks in large part to the odd working of my brain – especially as it pertains to the selection of blog content – we commence the second “theme week’ in a row.

Last week we looked at three Stax 45s.

This week we head south for three (excellent) New Orleans-based 45s.

As we did last week, we get things rolling with a dance craze 45, which oddly enough shares a title with a different Rufus Thomas 45, ‘Sophisticated Sissy’ by Curley Moore (Rufus’s came out in 1967, Moore’s in 1968).

Curley Moore is one of my favorite journeyman New Orleans soul singers, having recorded through the 60s and 70s for a variety of labels (Ace, NOLA, Teem, Sansu, Instant, House of the Fox) starting out with Huey Piano Smith and the Clowns and moving on to a series of outstanding solo 45s.

Moore was, like Willie Harper, possessed of one of the really interesting voices in New Orleans soul and R&B, and like Harper got to work with the mighty Allen Toussaint.

‘Sophisticated Sissy’ came out right on the cusp of what I like to call ‘The 33s’, i.e. records released on the Instant label with a catalog number higher than 3300, the dividing line (though there are some exceptions) between the soul and funk eras of the label, and right around the time (1968) when it seems that Instant was pressing their 45s in progressively smaller quantities (thus the increased rarity of their titles).

‘Sophisticated Sissy’, written by Huey Smith (who was doing a lot of work for Instant in this era) and Brenda Brannon (a frequent collaborator of Smith’s), sounds like a revved up version of Moore’s classic ‘Soul Train’, with a helping of heavy drums (sounds a lot like Smokey Johnson to me), twangy guitar and a pulsing piano like (Smith, no doubt).

The tune isn’t exactly a vocal showcase – it follows the dance craze template pretty closely – with Moore’s vocal being doubled by a female singer, but it does have a lot of New Orleans soul-into-funk flavor.

As funky New Orleans 45s go, ‘Sophisticated Sissy’ is fairly slept-on, still coming in at under 50 bucks, which I find kind of mind-boggling, but if you want to slip a copy into your playbox, that will work to your benefit.

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

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, May 4, 2017 10:41 am

Eddie Floyd

Listen/Download – Eddie Floyd – Got To Make a Comeback MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and I will remind you once again to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, which drops each and every Friday with the finest in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. Youy can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the Stitcher and TuneIn apps, check it out on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com

And, while you’re at it, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

We close out Stax Week with a record that I consider to be one of the greatest Southern soul ballads ever recorded, and like Wednesday’s selection, it languishes on the flip side of a monster hit.

‘Knock On Wood’ was Eddie Floyd’s very first hit, making it to Number One on the R&B charts and Top 30 Pop in the summer of 1966. It remains to this day one of the best-known soul records of the 1960s, and has been covered countless times by soul, rock and disco artists in since the time of its release.

‘Got To Make a Comeback’, written by Floyd and DJ Joe Shamwell, is from its very first notes, a truly remarkable record.

Opening with deep, tremeloed guitar (which keeps rolling through the song, courtesy of co-producer Steve Cropper) ‘Got To Make a Comeback’ is as deep and pleading a ballad as ‘Knock On Wood’ was a sock soul shouter.

Floyd digs deep into the lyric, and the backing – basically the MGs and the Memphis Horns – is classic Stax/Volt.

Once again, it seems like ‘Got To Make a Comeback’ was relegated to obscurity by the overwhelming power/success of it’s a-side. I’m shocked that it hasn’t been covered very mch over the years (though Robert Cray did a very nice, very faithful cover in 1983).

It’s a great, great song/performance, and a great way to close out a week of Stax.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.