Posts tagged: Hammond Organ

Georges Raudi – Stercok

By , December 9, 2018 11:58 am

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The Picture Sleeve

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Listen/Download – Georges Raudi – Stercok MP3

Greetings all.

The track I bring you today is one of those things that I first encountered back in the old Soulstrut days, and managed to pick up a few years later.

The track ‘Stercok’ originated on the soundtrack to a 1970s French TV series about the cat burglar Arsene Lupin (about whom other films had been made, before and after this show).

The ‘soundtrack’ as it was, was restricted to two sides of a 45. One side a terrible Jacques Dutronc song, and the other, this very groovy, funky Hammond instrumental.

Though the cut is credited to Georges Raudi and His Orchestra, it seems the artists name is correctly spelled ‘Rodi’.

Georges Rodi was a keyboardist and composer with a ton of credits as a sideman and several albums under his own name.

‘Stercok’ (I have no idea what the title refers to) starts out with a punchy drum roll, followed by thumping bass, distorted rhythm guitar and lots of atmospheric, Hawkshaw-esque organ work. There are also piano solos (probably Rodi, as well).

The feel is very much a perfect late 60s/early 70s discotheque-au-go-go vibe, and I can definitely picture it being used as the background to a swinging scene.

Interestingly, for a groovy, French-only 45 release, ‘Stercok’ isn’t terribly expensive or hard to track down, so go get yourself a copy.

I hope you dig it, 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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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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Walter Wanderley – Kee-Ka-Roo

By , February 18, 2018 12:00 pm

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Walter Wanderley

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Listen/Download – Walter Wanderley – Kee-Ka-Roo MP3

Greetings all.

Welcome back to the Funky16Corners thing for another week of musical wonderfulness.

The track I bring you today is a long (loooong) time fave, introduced (and initially gifted) to me by my buddy Haim.

Haim used to turn me on to all kinds of cool music, and one day he played Walter Wanderley’s ‘Kee-Ka-Roo’ for me and just about blew my mind.

You all know that I’m a certified Hammond nut, and while I knew of Wanderley (already owning a couple of his boss nova LPs) I had no idea he had anything like this in his arsenal.

Wanderley was a Brazilian organist who had a significant recording/playing career in his native country before hitting the charts in 1967 with ‘Summer Samba’, which became one of the best known/most popular ‘easy’ instrumentals of the 1960s (which would gain ever more reknown via the vocal version he recorded with Astrud Gilberto under the title ‘So Nice’).

‘Kee-Ka-Roo’ originated on his 1967 album of the same name.

Where ‘Summer Samba’ was all smooth bossa jazz, ‘Kee-Ka-Roo’ is a swinging slice of Brazil-au-go-go, mixing sharp, hard-hitting drums with cuica, and guitar.

It sounds like it was custom made for a discotheque scene in a period film.

The band on ‘Kee-Ka-Roo’ is amix of Brazilian and American players (including Bobby Rosengarden who laid down some similarly cool drums on a number of Enoch Light-related things).

It makes me wish that Wanderley had done some more music in this vein.

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

Until next time,

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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Best of F16C – Forbidden City Organs

By , January 21, 2018 12:33 pm

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Funky16Corners Radio v.80 – Forbidden City Organs

Recorded Live in NYC 1-27-10

Playlist

Louis Chachere– A Soulful Bag (Central)
Hank Marr – The Out Crowd (Wingate)
Turtles – Buzz Saw (White Whale)
Albert Collins – Cookin’ Catfish (20th Century Fox)
Wynder K. Frog – Oh Mary (UA)
Don & the Goodtimes – Turn On (Wand)
Dave Lewis – Searchin’ (Piccadilly)
Earl Van Dyke – Soul Stomp (Soul)
Toussaint McCall – Shimmy (Ronn)
Georgie Fame – El Bandido (Imperial)
La Bert Ellis – Batman (A&M)
James Brown – Shhhhhhhh (For a Little While) (King)
Mohawks – Champ (Philips/NL)
Ross Carnegie – The Kid (El Con)
John Phillip Soul and His Stone Marching Band – That Memphis Thing (Pepper)
Bill Doggett – Honky Tonk Popcorn (King)
Lou Garno Trio – Chicken In the Basket (Giovanni)
Hindal Butts – In the Pocket (M-S)
Warm Excursion – Hang Up Pt1 (Pzazz)
Soul Tornado’s – Crazy Legs (Westwood)
Charles Earland – Sing a Simple Song (Prestige)
Art Butler – Soul Brother (Epic)
Memphis Black – Why Don’t You Play the Organ Man (Ascot)

Funky16Corners Presents: Forbidden City Organs –
Recorded Live 1/27/10

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Greetings all.
This is another dip into the Funky16Corners archives, a live, all-Hammond set that I did at Forbidden City (with my man DJ Bluewater)  almost exactly eight years ago.
It’s packed with 45RPM goodness, so pull down the ones and zeroes and dig it.
Keep the Faith
Larry
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Greetings all, and welcome back to the Funky16Corners-adelic-superfragelistic thing for another week.

Before we get started, I want to say that after serious consideration with the Funky16Corners board of directors, and close consultation with some serious heads (not the least of whom being my man DJ Prestige) I have decided not to deep six the old versions of the blog (WordPress and Blogger). While I did deactivate all active content links on both sites (replacing them with redirects where necessary), since I was unable to do a full export of the WordPress blog, and could not bring over the comments on the old blog posts, AND since I consider reader commentary to be an important part of the process (mainly because so many of you contribute information via those posts) I figured it would benefit all parties to keep the old sites up and running (with any luck as long as this sentence).

Anything you might travel back there to hear, can now be heard here in the new Funky16Corners Radio Podcast and Guest Mix Archives.

The mix you see before you today was supposed to be up in this space on Friday, but I just had too damn much to do, and so I had to put it off for a couple of days. I think, however that you will be pleased when you pull down the ones and zeros and stuff it in your ears.

For you see (hear), Funky16Corners Radio v.80* is just about an hour of high octane, Hammond fueled groove grease guaranteed to get you off your ass, slipping and sliding across the floor, with the hip-shaking, and the wild gesticulation, and the shaking of the hair, gospel wailing and general good times.

Big words those, but I think once the sounds have been ingested, you will concur.

It all started thusly…

Back before Christmas, my lovely wife asked me what I wanted as a holiday gift. I generally reply to these queries with a shrug and a ‘Don’t worry ‘bout me on account of I pretty much have everything I need’. However, this year there was something I had my eye on, so I sent my wife the link, and ‘Bob’s yer uncle’ a brand new digital recorded dropped into my stocking.

My main motivation in requesting this new bit of hardware was so that my casting of the pods would be facilitated, but as is the norm when I get a new toy, I find some other, more interesting way to put it to work, and so I did.

It was at the last Asbury Park 45 Sessions that I brought my recorder along and attempted to record my set right off the board. I thought everything had gone swimmingly, until I got up the next morning, transferred the file onto my laptop and discovered that Einstein (that’s me, heh heh…) hadn’t read the instructions properly, and what I had recorded was not the mix off the board, but all the ambient noise surrounding it. I tossed that one into the old electronic wastebasket and set my sights on my next set at Master Groove.

Well my friends, it was a success.

I had spoken to my host the esteemed DJ Bluewater about what I would play this time, and I suggested a ‘theme set’ of sorts. He thought this was a good idea, so I sat down in the midst of my record vault and started digging. I had originally thought I might do a Northern Soul thing (next time out maybe) but I happened upon a clump of solid Hammond 45s, so I took that as a sign and continued in that direction.

What you have here is an actual live mix, recorded directly from the booth monitor line on the mixer, no fiddling/editing involved.

If you’ve visited with me here over the years, you’ll already be aware that I am a first class Hammond organ nut, and my crates run deep. When I started pulling stuff to compose my set, I extracted enough records for three or four sets, and then sat down with the turntable and selected a little over an hour’s worth of faves.

The records you’ll hear in this mix are the very cream of the dancefloor Hammond crop, with lots of your big keyboard wranglers (Messrs Earland, Doggett, McCall, Lewis, Van Dyke, Frog and Carnegie) a couple of unusual sources (Albert Collins and the Turtles, yes, the Turtles) and a few things you may not have heard before.

As stated previously, my intention here was to whip something up to get the dancers moving, so if you’re playing this inside your corporate veal pen, try not to spill your coffee/disturb your neighbor. If you’re on the bus, piping it in via earbuds, don’t be surprised if your neighbor attempts to administer first aid, since you may appear to be involved in convulsions of some sort.

That said, I will refrain from further comment, letting the sounds speak for themselves.

I hope you dig the mix, and rest assured that I will endeavor to bring you more of the same (both live, and organ mixes) in the coming months.

Peace

Larry

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El Chicano – Coming Home Baby

By , December 10, 2017 12:17 pm

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El Chicano

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Listen/Download – El Chicano – Coming Home Baby MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well.

I have been digging-econo of late, and so when I dipped into a Discogs store and found a grip of interesting looking one-dollar 45s, I thought I’d grab me some and see how it played out (if you will). Most of the things I picked up hardly amounted to ‘taking a chance’, seeing that they were either very cheap, or by reliably great artists (or both).

One of those purchases sits before you today, East LA giants El Chicano’s smoking version of Bob Dorough and Ben Tucker’s oft-recorded ‘Coming Home Baby’.

The group’s version of Gerald Wilson’s ‘Viva Tirado’ was a substantial hit in 1970, and though they continued to record/release music for the next decade, they never really had another big hit.

This is not to say that they weren’t making good music, as today’s selection will attest.

‘Coming Home Baby’ hit the charts a dozen different times between Mel Torme’s brilliant version in 1962 and 1971.

El Chicano’s version, a blazing, overmodulated Hammond feature only charted very briefly in a few California markets, but it is among the finest versions I have heard.

Cramming almost five and a half minutes onto one side of a 45, the El Chicano version has a hot, live sound with just enough Latin percussion in the mix to remind you who your listening to.

In addition to the general hotness of this 45, it should serve as a reminder that El Chicano’s stuff is uniformly excellent and as our friends in the UK are wont to say, ‘cheap as chips’, so go out and get you some.

See you next week.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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Keith Mansfield and His Orchestra – Soul Confusion

By , May 16, 2017 1:02 pm

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Keith Mansfield (left) and Alan Hawkshaw

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

Greetings all.

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

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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.

The Soul Set – Mickey’s Funky Monkey b/w Flunky Flunky

By , March 16, 2017 7:02 am

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Listen/Download – The Soul Set – Mickey’s Funky Monkey MP3

Listen/Download – The Soul Set – Flunky Flunky MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, and so it’s Funky16Corners Radio Show time again. The podcast comes to you each and every Friday with the best 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 right here at Funky16Corners.com

Today’s selection is one of those records that has been stewing in my crates since forever, picked up in my broad sweep of everything Philadelphical back in the day.

I remember grabbing this out of certain cigar smoke stained vinyl treasure trove withing the Philly city limits, along with a grip of funk and Northern Soul things, mainly on the strength of the title, and the fact that it had Philly music names (Frank Virtue and Bernie Binnick) on it.

When I got it home I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that in addition to the funky version of the Miracles ‘Mickey’s Monkey’, there was a groovy organ instro version (Flunky Flunky) on the flip.

I know nothing at all about the Soul Set, other than the fact that they probably had no relation to the Jersey Shore unit (that secorded for Selsom and Johnson).

BB was a Philadelphia imprint that released a bunch of 45s in the mid-to-late 60s including two by the Soul Set, one by Guy Maurice (who also recorded for Fairmount), and discs by Frantic Freddy, the Centurys and (dig this name) Ernie Fields and Cockroach.

The group’s version of ‘Mickey’s Monkey’ is groovy, with lots of dance floor punch.

The organ instro version ‘Flunky Flunky’ is also excellent, with lots of overmodulated Hammond sailing over the pounding drums.

Interestingly, ‘Mickey’s Funky Monkey’ charted in a bunch of Philly-area markets in the summer of 1967 (their earlier 45 had some minor regional success as well.

If anyone out there knows who was in this band, please let me know.

That said, I hope you dig the 45, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

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.

Soul Continentals – Goobah (African Twist)

By , March 7, 2017 10:17 am

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Jackey Beavers

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Listen/Download – Soul Continentals – Goobah (African Twist) MP3

Greetings all.

The record you see before you is an old fave, which I picked up on (though didn’t get a copy of until a couple of years ago) way back in the early days of my Hammond organ obsession.

When I started digging around for info about the Soul Continentals, I was initially surprised to see that they seemed to have hailed from Detroit (their one other 45 was on the Jaber label out of Michigan), but after digging further, was even more surprised to find out that they were led by none other than Jackey Beavers!

You read about Jackey in this space before relating to his work in Johnny (Bristol) and Jackey, who did the original version of ‘Someday We’ll Be Together’. Beavers went on to record a bunch of 45s on his own for a variety of labels.

It was only recently that I discovered that the ‘R. Beavers’ listed as the composer/producer of ‘Goobah (African Twist)’ and its flipside ‘Bowlegs’ was in fact Jackey Beavers (his real name being Robert).

I’m not sure, but I suspect that Beavers is the keyboard player on this track, which features piano and organ.

Though the flipside ‘Bowlegs’ is faster moving number with some very hard hitting drums, ‘Goobah (African Twist)’ , released in 1968, moves at a more deliberate pace, with a groovy organ soloing over drums and hand percussion, with minor vocal interjections, and a very cool reverbed guitar solo.

As Hammond instros go, it’s a killer, and well worth whatever it takes to move one into your playbox (and a lot cheaper than their earlier Jaber 45 which can cost hundreds).

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

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.

Trudy Pitts – Bucketful of Soul

By , December 11, 2016 12:15 pm

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Trudy Pitts looking badass!

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Listen/Download – Trudy Pitts – Bucketful of Soul MP3

Greetings all.

I come to you today after a brief dip in my Hammond crates, after which I surfaced with the record you see before you clenched in my teeth (not really, but you dig, right?).

I am always happy to come across a groovy organ 45, but a little more so when it turns out to be evidence of the small but very cool sorority of female Hammond slingers (which also included Shirley Scott, Bu Pleasant, Rhoda Scott, and Merritt Hemmingson).

Trudy Pitts was one of the finest members of that group, as well as being part of the slightly larger group of Philadelphia-based organists (Jimmys Smith & McGriff, Charlie Earland e.g.) , of which there are/were many.

Pitts was born in 1932 and started recording in the early 60s, often with her husband, Bill Carney (often billed as “Mr C”) on drums.

Today’s selection, a Bucketful of Soul’ originally appeared as on the 1968 album of the same name, on which Mr C gets equal billing, and the couple was joined by soul jazz guitar master Wilbert Longmire.

The tune is a groover, with Carney and Longmire providing a base on which Pitts was able to solo extensively (even though the track is only three minutes long, edited down to about a minute shorter than the LP version), and stylishly.

‘Bucketful of Soul’ is a great example of mid-60s Hammond, never getting too far out, but definitely packing a more modern punch than the more R&B, or straight jazz sounds of a few years earlier.

Pitts recorded four albums for Prestige in 1967 and 1968, went on to guest on a number of Rahsaan Roland Kirk LPs in the 70s, and continued to play and record until here death in 2010.

Her LPs can be difficult to come by, but are all worth picking up. There was a CD reissue of a bunch of her Prestige material with Pat Martino, but it appears to be out of print. Some of her later, self-released albums are available in iTunes.

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

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.

Funky16Corners: You Gotta Have Soul

By , October 25, 2016 9:58 am

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Funky16Corners: You Gotta Have Soul!
An Hour of Soul and Funk Instrumentals

Booker T and the MGs – One Mint Julep (Stax)
Brothers and Sisters – Shake a Lady (Capitol)
Travis Wammack – Karate Time (Atlantic)
Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band – Brown Sugar (WB)
Chip and Dave – 7th Round (Sure Star)
Daddy Kae Trio – Shug!!! (Fairmount)
Lloyd Price Orchestra – I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Turntable)
E Rodney Jones – R&B Time Pt2 (Tuff)
Marketts – Richie’s Theme (WB)
Buena Vistas – Here Comes the Judge (Marquee)
Ricky Allen – Skate Boogaloo (Bright Star)
Sam Rhodes – Shake Your Soul Honey (Inst) (Capitol)
Alvin Cash and the Registers – No Deposit No Return (Mar V Lus)
Soul Machine – Twitchie Feet (Pzazz)
Leon and the Burners – Crack Up (Josie)
Johnny Watson – Coke (Okeh)
Little Sonny – Latin Soul (Revilot)
Gravities (Johnny Newton’s Band) – Do the Whip (Inst) (Mercury)
Sandy Nelson – I Don’t Need No Doctor (Imperial)
El Dorados – New Breed (Port)
The Peddlers – Steel Mill (CBS UK)
EJ’s Ltd – Black Bull (Back Beat)
Noble Watts – F.L.A. (Brunswick)
Les Demerle – The Raven (UA)
Soul Continentals – Bowlegs (Sound Stage 7)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents – You Gotta Have Soul 112MB/256K Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

The mix you see before you today is something I whipped up a while back for the great This Is Tomorrow blog.

It features a solid of of soul and funk instrumentals, guaranteed to make you get outcha seat and onto the floor (whether your dancing, or just on the floor is up to you).

There are a grip of recent acquisitions, including many tunes that have not appeared on the blog or the radio show before.

As always I hope that you dig it, and I’ll be back with some more stuff on Friday.

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.

Jimmy Smith – Chain of Fools Pt1

By , July 26, 2016 11:23 am

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Jimmy Smith: The Master Wrestling With the Monster

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Listen/Download – Jimmy Smith – Chain of Fools Pt1 MP3

Greetings all.

I was wandering through the hallways of the windmills of the caverns of my iPod and it occurred to me that we could all stand a dose of some midweek Hammond.

Who better to whup a little B3 on us all that the elevated past master of the organ, the mighty Jimmy Smith.

Smith is an interesting character in the annals of the Hammond – at least as far as organ 45 nuts like me go – because while he is the best known of the instruments proponents from the classic era, and recorded both as a straight ahead jazzer and a soul jazz/funk guy, he hasn’t ever really been my go-to guy for heavy, really greasy organ sides.

This has a lot to do with the fact that while a master musician, Smith was also probably the most mainstream organist of his time, with long associations with both Blue Note and Verve records. He was prolific, and fairly good-selling, so his records pop up a lot more commonly than most of his contemporaries.

He was also consistently an LP artist – thanks to his major label gigs – so he wasn’t dependent on, or laying his best stuff down for, the 45RPM format (as opposed to a guy like Hank Marr who did some of his best stuff on the smaller discs).

That said, he was no slouch, and when he wanted to he could dish out the grits and gravy with the best of them.

One of my fave Smith 45s is his version of the Don Covay (and Aretha Franklin, naturally) classic ‘Chain of Fools’ from his 1968 LP ‘Stay Loose’, on the cover of which he is inexplicably dressed in skydiving gear, and jumping up and down (though his previous album ‘Respect’ had him doing karate poses in a gi, so maybe it was in his contract).

Featuring snappy, in the pocket drums by Grady Tate and some very tasty guitar from a moonlighting Phil Upchurch (the LP was recorded in NYC), as well as a female backing chorus, Smith wails on the tune, managing to (in this first of two-parts) really do the track justice.

As Hammond 45s go, ‘Chain of Fools’ is pretty hot, and I’m sure it got more than a few feet moving when their owners dropped a nickel in the jukebox.

It would also seem that ‘Chain of Fools’ had some success (it charted locally in New York) since it was repressed a bunch of times and even got a European release.

So, if by some strange coincidence this is the first time you’ve heard Smith’s stuff (which I doubt, but bear with me) head out to your nearest used record store, garage sale or flea market and add some more Jimmy Smith to your crates, though a truckload of his Blue Note and Verve titles are available digitally, as well.

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

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.

Leon Haywood at the Organ – 1962-1968

By , April 14, 2016 9:26 am

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Big Jay McNeely and Band – The Squat (Swingin’)
Big Jay McNeely and Band – Without a Love (Swingin’)
Leon Haywood – The Fat Fish (Fat Fish)
Leon Haywood – A River’s Invitation (Convoy)
Leon Haywood – Soul Cargo (Fat Fish)
Leon and the Burners – Whiplash (Josie)
Leon and the Burners – Crack Up (Josie)
The Packers – Hole In the Wall (Pure Soul Music)
The Packers – Go Head On (Pure Soul Music)
The Hideaways – Hide Out (Mirwood)
Leon Haywood – Soul On (Imperial)
Leon Haywood – Cornbread and Buttermilk (Imperial)
Leon Haywood – 1-2-3 (Imperial)
The Soul Machine – Bag of Goodies (Pzazz)
The Soul Machine – Twitchy Feet (Pzazz

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents: Leon Haywood at the Organ 1962-1968 MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, dropping each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen online via the TuneIn app or Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at the blog.

News came down the pike last week that the great Leon Haywood had passed away at the age of 74.

Fans of 60s and 70s soul would have been familiar with vocal hits like ‘It’s GotTo Be Mellow’, ‘Mellow Moonlight’ or ‘I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You’.

However, as I discovered – quite by accident, years ago – Leon Haywood was not only a smooth singer, but a Hammond wrangler of the first order.

Turning over a few of his Decca and Imperial 45s revealed organ instrumentals, and then delving deep into the mystery behind that recording of the Packers’ ‘Hole In the Wall’, it was gradually revealed that in addition to a great singing voice, Haywood was just as comfortable on the keys.

He recorded on organ and piano frequently through the 1960s, often as a backing musician, or under a group alias, and then pretty much abandoned the sideline as he got more popular in the 70s.

I had this mix simmering long before he passed away, but as soon as I heard he was gone, I moved it to the front burner.

Born in Texas, he moved to California in the early 60s where he hooked up with the band of R&B saxophonist Big Jay McNeely, with whom he made his first records as an organist. I’ve included both sides of one of his 1962 McNeely 45s, both tunes co-written by Haywood. ‘The Squat’ and ‘Without a Love’ both feature Haywood using a wide open, slightly distorted/overmodulated organ sound in a heavily reverbed production. ‘The Squat’ is a wild R&B dancer, with it’s flipside working a more sedate, bluesy side of the street.

The next few songs fall into the window of 1965-1966, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t in exact chronological order.

Haywood recorded a full album for the LA label Fat Fish in 1966, which included a few vocal numbers (but did not include his big Northern Soul number ‘Baby Reconsider’ which was on a later Fat Fish 45), as well as a grip of piano and organ instrumentals. I’ve included three tracks from this album, including the tunes ‘Fat Fish’, ‘Soul Cargo’ and his swinging cover of Percy Mayfield’s ‘A River’s Invitation’, which appeared on the album as well as a Convoy 45 (where I first heard it).

Next up is both sides of a 45 that I had for at least 15 years before I realized it was Haywood, by Leon and the Burners. ‘Whiplash’ – which uses a similar organ sound to the McNeely 45 – owes a debt to Alvin Cash’s ‘Twine Time’. The flipside, ‘Crack Up’ has a lean, Memphis sound to it.

The next two sides see Leon Haywood walking into the midst of the one of the most interesting musical mysteries of the classic soul era. The Packers ‘Hole In The Wall’ was a Top 5 R&B/Top 40 Pop hit in the Fall of 1965. The session was put together by LA DJ the Magnificent Montague, and included most of Booker T and the MGs (minus Duck Dunn) who were in LA recording with Bobby Darin, saxophonist Packy Axton of the Mar-Keys, and none other than Leon Haywood on organ (Booker T on piano) and Earl Grant on bass.

All would have been clear enough had this been the only record the Packers did, but Axton went on (with a variety of other players) to record a bunch of “Packers” records over the next few years, as well as both sides of the ‘Hole In the Wall’ 45 being issued in the US and the UK as two differently named songs by someone named Joe S. Maxey (more here).

Complicating matters even more, is the fact that Nat Nathan, sometimes with Haywood (sometimes without) would also record a bunch of ‘Hole In the Wall’-esque 45s (you can see the roots of the Packers “sound” in Haywood’s Fat Fish sides), including ‘Hide Out’ by the Hideaways on the LA Mirwood label.

As I mentioned earlier, Haywood included organ and piano instrumentals on his Decca LP ‘It’s Got To be Mellow’ and on the B-sides of his Decca and Imperial 45s. Included here are the originals ‘Soul On’ (45 only) and ‘Cornbread and Buttermilk’ (from the LP) and the 45-only cover of Len Barry’s ‘1-2-3’.

The last two tracks in this mix are the two sides of a great, funky 1968 Hammond 45 that I was after for years, only bagging a copy late last year. The Soul Machine’s ‘Twitchie Feet’ b/w ‘Bag of Goodies’ (recently covered by the Incredible Say Whats) were played, produced and written by Haywood, during his time with the LA-based Pzazz label (where he also recorded with Little Janice).

Now, I have no doubt whatsoever that there are gaps in this mix, especially where Haywood’s work as a sideman, or pseudonymous bandleader are concerned. I have a few 45s that I suspect are his handiwork, but no hard evidence to go on. If any of you have any records to add to the list, please let me know.

Haywood spent time between his 60s and 70s hits working in the studio, backing people like Shuggie Otis. He also started his own Evejim label, and worked as a producer.

He was a talented performer, and will be missed.

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

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.

Johnny Hammond- Higher Ground

By , March 20, 2016 11:52 am

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Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith

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Listen/Download – Johnny Hammond – Higher Ground MP3

Greetings all.

I thought we’d ease ourselves into the week with some long-form, funky Hammond organ from the man who’s name matched the axe, Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith.

Known alternately as Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith (he attached the Hammond to set himself apart from guitarist Johnny Smith and organ maestro Jimmy Smith) and Johnny Hammond (as he is here, having detached the ‘Smith’ in 1974, JHS was one of the masters of the classic era of organ led soul jazz.

He recorded for Riverside and Prestige from the late 50s into the early 70s, moving on to Kudu in 1971.

Today’s selection, his cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1973 hit Higher Ground’ comes from his (Hammond’s) 1974 LP of the same name.

Here Johnny gets to stretch out (the shortest track on the album is over seven minutes long) with a hot band that included Steve Gadd on drums, Ron Carter on bass, George Benson on guitar and electric piano by the arranger for the date, none other than Bob James.

It is a very groovy session for one relatively late in the game. There’s a little of that Creed Taylor CTI/Kudu polish (always a good thing) but also plenty of head nodding funk (the album also includes the heavily sampled ‘Big Sur Suite’).

All of his Kudu LPs are highly recommended.

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

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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