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By Larry, February 15, 2020 1:21 pm

New London Rhythm and Blues Band – Soul Stream (Vocalion)
Choker Campbell and His 16 Piece Band – Wild One (Motown)
Kelly Gordon – If That Don’t Get It It Ain’t There (Capitol)
Al Briscoe Clark and His Orchestra – Soul Food Pt2 (Fontana)
Steve Allen – Son of a Preacher Man (Flying Dutchman)
Quincy Jones and His Orchestra – Mohair Sam (Mercury)
Billy Clark and His Orchestra – Hot Gravy (Dynamo)
Tony Newman – Soul Thing (Parrot)
Sammy Lowe – Baby Baby Baby (Smash)
Inez and Charlie Foxx’s Swingin’ Mocking Band – Speed Ticket (Dynamo)
The Soul Finders – Dead End Street (Camden)
Gene Barge – The Fine Twine (Checker)
Al Thomas Ork – Cornbread and Molasses (Virtue)
Paul Nero – Soul Medley No1 (This Is Soul) (Liberty)
Lloyd Price – Ooh-Pee-Day (Double L)
Johnny Watson – Unchain My Heart (Okeh)
Gentleman June Gardner – It’s Gonna Rain (Philips)
Freddie Scott and the Seven Steps – It’s Not Unusual (Marlin)
Detroit City Limits – Think (Okeh)
JJ Jackson and the Greatest Little Soul Band In the Land – Win, Lose or Draw (Congress)
Woody Herman – It’s Your Thing (Cadet)
X-Citers Unlimited – Soul To Billie Joe (ABC)
Andre Williams and His Orchestra – Soul Party A Go Go (Avin)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Kick In the Brass MP3
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Greetings all!

This brand new mix has been percolating for a while, and the lockdown/quarantine thing pushed me to post it, so that you might have some groovy sounds to enjoy while hunkered.

This is just about an hour of 1960s, brass-heavy soul and funk, with some Hammond goodness mixed in for flavor.

So dig it, pass it along, and stay healthy!

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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By Larry, March 31, 2019 9:32 am

Tami Lynn

Listen/Download – Tami Lynn – Love Affair Suite MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well.

The music I bring you today is unusual in that it comprises not a single song but a side-long medley.

Tami Lynn is a particularly interesting singer.

She came up in New Orleans, singing on a number of local sessions, many for the AFO label, making one single with Bert Berns in 1965 (that went on to become a bog Northern Soul fave, and oddly enough appears on this 1971 album) and then the album you see before you today, and that – as they say – (aside from backgriound singing for others, especially Dr John) is that (though there appears to be another album from 1992 under the name Tamiya Lynn).

I have no idea why she stopped recording under her own name, but the album she left behind, is, while imperfect, possessed of perfection.

When you dig into the recording of ‘Love Is Here And Now Your Gone’ you begin to realize that it was kind of a piecemeal effort, with recording sessions in multiple locations, with multiple producers, and, as I mentioned earlier, the inclusion of that 1965 45.

I have no idea what the history was behind this, whether there wasn’t funding, or some kind of tug of war about what the label was going to do with Tami and her recordings, but at the end of the day, the record will stand as a (lost) classic for side one.

The ‘Love Affair Suite’ (that’s my name for it, since it doesn’t have a collective name on the record) is a sidelong, narrative (the songs are interspersed with monologues) about the birth and death of a love affair.

The medley is composed of songs originally done by Loretta Lynn (Wings Upon Your Horn), the Supremes (Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone), Betty Harris (Can’t Last Much Longer) and one song that originates here (though it was recorded the same year by the Patterson Singers), Dave Crawford and Willie Martin’s ‘That’s Understanding’.

Taken individually, the performances are uniformly wonderful, especially the slowed down, mournful take on ‘Love Is Here…’, but taken as a whole, they constitute a piece of work that ought to be much better known than it is.

Perhaps the overall obscurity of the record contributes to this, or the fact that the entire medley is almost 21 minutes and would never get airplay (though ‘That’s Understanding’ would get a UK 45 release on Mojo), but I assure you that once you pull down the ones and zeroes and let this bit of magic work its way into your ears, you will feel compelled to push it one someone else enthiusiatically.

The production by New Orleans giant Wardell Quezerque is outstanding, and he really lays back and lets the subtle majesty of Lynn’s performance come through.

So 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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By Larry, January 27, 2019 12:14 pm

The Sims Twins

Listen/Download – The Sims Twins – A Losing Battle MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s selection is one of my favorite 45s to come out of what I call the Los Angeles/New Orleans connection.

I use the term to cover the diaspora of New Orleans musicians, including Harold Battiste, Mac Rebennack, Jesse Hill and Earl Palmer among others that ended up working in a wide variety of settings in the studios of LA in the 1960s.

The Sims Twins were originally from New Orleans, before being discovered by Sam Cooke and moving out to the West Coast where the recorded a grip of singles for Cooke’s SAR records between 1961 and 1963 (including the original version of ‘Soothe Me’ later covered by Sam and Dave) and going on to record for Omen, Parkway, Specialty and Crossover, eventually running out of steam by the mid 70s.

Today’s selection was recorded for Omen Records in 1966. Written by Mac Rebennack and John Dauenhauer and arranged by Harold Battiste, ‘A Losing Battle’ is a great slice of upbeat soul with a fantastic arrangement.

Oddly enough, a while back, I was listening to Little Royal’s 1972 album, and one of the songs sounded vaguely familiar. It turns out he had covered ‘A Losing Battle’ but slowed the tempo way down, turning into a mournful ballad, rendering it almost unrecognizable.

That said, I hope you dig the tune, 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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By Larry, December 16, 2018 12:00 pm

Allen Toussaint

Listen/Download – Allen Toussaint – Get Out Of My Life Woman MP3

Greetings all

The track I bring you today takes one of the most covered tunes of the New Orleans soul scene, right back to the source (though not the original recording).

Allen Toussaint wrote ‘Get Out Of My Life, Woman’ for Lee Dorsey who had a fairly substantial hit with it in 1965.

The tune became a popular soul standard, and was covered by all kinds of artists, from LA folk rocker the Leaves, to jazz vocal giant Joe Williams.

The various and sundry versions of the song have become popular with diggers because of the tune’s built-in drum break.

Toussaint went into the studio to record his own version of the song in 1968, and the results are typically fantastic.

He lays the song down in a relaxed New Orleans groove, stripping away most of the lyrics and wrapping it all up in an interesting arrangement, with lots of piano, horns, and in a touch that showed up in a bunch of Toussaint productions at the time, acoustic guitar accents.

It’s always struck me a shame that Toussaint didn’t record solo more often, especially in the 1960s. I always like his vocals (though you can hear him singing backup on a ton of other people’s records) and his interpretations of his own songs were always interesting.

This 45 doesn’t turn up too often, but when it does it tends to be inexpensive.

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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By Larry, February 11, 2018 11:52 am

Warren Lee – Star Revue (Deesu)
Mac Rebennack and the Soul Orchestra – The Point (AFO)
Candy Phillips – Timber Pt1 (Atlantic)
Tommy Ridgley – In the Same Old Way (Ronn)
Eddie Lang – Something Within Me (Seven B)
Aubrey Twins – Love Without End Amen (Epic)
Bates Sisters – So Broken Hearted (Nola)
Benny Spellman – I Feel Good (Atlantic)
Chitlins – Sugar Woman (Pala)
Curley Moore – Soul Train (Hot Line)
Danny White – Cracked Up Over You (Decca)
Eldridge Holmes – Emperor Jones (ALON)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)
Lee Dorsey – Do Re Mi (Fury)
Robert Parker – Secret Service (Nola)
Zodiacs – Surely (Deesu)
Betty Harris – Trouble With My Lover (Sansu)
Eddie Bo – Fence of Love (Seven B)
Jesse Hill – My Children My Children (Chess)
John Williams and the Tick Tocks – Do Me Like You Do Me (Sansu)
Lee Calvin – You Got Me (Sansu)
Mary Jane Hooper – That’s How Strong My Love Is (World Pacific)
Aaron Neville – A Hard Nut To Crack (Parlo)
Skip Easterling – Keep the Fire Burning (ALON)
Alvin Robinson – Seaching (Tiger)
Dr John – Big Chief (Atco)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Keep the Fire Burning MP3

Greetings all.

What you see before you is a special, all-new (all New Orleans!) mix for Mardi Gras 2018.

Funky16Corners Boogaloo Mardi Gras, first posted in 2012 has rerun in this space every year since then.

As I have procured lots of excellent New Orleans vinyl in the interim, I thought that it behooved me to dig back into the crates and whip something new on y’all.

F16C: Keep the Fire Burning is just a hair over an hour of high quality New Orleans soul 45s, all of which are suitable for rug-cutting, second lining and however you are moved when the music comes on.

Allen Toussaint and Eddie Bo are both heavily represented as songwriters, producers, arrangers and in Eddie’s case, performer, and there are lots of other Crescent City masters (and mistresses) getting down in the grooves.

So pull down the ones and zeroes, get out your um-ba-rella and Mardi Gras!

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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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.

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By Larry, May 9, 2017 12:32 pm

Miss Betty Harris

Listen/Download – Betty Harris – Mean Man MP3

Greetings all.

New Orleans 45 week continues with one of the finest records by one of my all time favorite singers, Miss Betty Harris.

If you’ve been following Funky16Corners for a long time you have seen Betty Harris pop up in this space, first on the web zine, in mixes and in individual posts.

She is one of the truly great 60s soul divas, and fortunately for all of us was one of Allen Toussaint’s go-to singers in the 1960s.

Though she wasn’t from New Orleans, and had a career before she started working with Toussaint, the work she did with him in New Orleans, first for Sansu and then for SSS Intl forms the core of her discography, and includes some of the very finest 45s to come out of the Crescent City during the classic soul era.

Among those 45s, ‘Mean Man’ holds a special place of honor as one of the best.

Recorded in 1968, written, produced and arranged by Toussaint, it exists in that sweet spot when soul was starting to evolve into funk. It features a stunning arrangement (one of his finest) with a hard-charging horn section, aggressive rhythm guitar, piano accents and female backing singers, all forming the foundation on which Harris constructed a landmark vocal.

She was – like every singer that Toussaint chose to work with in the 60s, remarkably expressive, capable of heartbreaking balladry, hard-hitting sock soul and funky hollars, and there are moments in ‘Mean Man’ that are among the best ever laid down by anyone during the classic era.

This is one of those records – of which there are scores from New Orleans – where it boggles the mind that it wasn’t a hit. It did gain some traction in the Northeast (and of course in New Orleans) but nothing significant. Despite the consistent high quality of her recordings (before, and with Toussaint) Harris had her biggest hit in 1963, and despite making it into the R&B Top 20 with ‘Nearer To You’ in 1967, never really got the kind of acclaim she deserved.

Fortunately Miss Harris is still with us, and still performing.

There are a couple of compilations of her best work out there, but she really deserves a major rediscovery/reappraisal.

I hope you dig the track, 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.

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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

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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, April 13, 2017 1:02 pm

Robert Parker

Listen/Download – Robert Parker – Get Ta Steppin’ MP3

Greetings all.

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

The record I bring you today is surely known to aficionados of New Orleans music, especially its funky side, but to precious few others.

To most people that know Robert Parker’s music, that knowledge begins and ends with ‘Barefootin’, not only Parker’s biggest hit, but one of the biggest hits to ever come out of New Orleans, having become a perennial on oldies stations, a favorite of the soulies as well as having been covered a bunch of times, and even having been used as a commercial jingle.

Parker recorded a grip of great stuff for the NOLA label in the mid-60s (including the excellent ‘Barefootin’ LP), but never really hit the charts after 1967, even though he continued to record for SSS Intl and eventually (from 1974-1977) Island records.

‘Get Ta Steppin’ was released on Island in 1974, and it is as good a slice of 1970s New Orleans funk as you are likely to find.

Written by Parker, and produced and arranged by Wardell Quezerge, ‘Get Ta Steppin’ has an impossibly heavy bass line and twangy guitar (possibly Meters George Porter Jr and Leon Nocentelli) and funky drums. Parker himself is in rare form, and the song is so catchy, so funky, that it seems a crime of sorts that it wasn’t a hit. As far as I can tell it didn’t get any traction in the R&B or Pop charts, even regionally.

After his brief run with Island, Parker seems to have (aside from a fake “live” set on a compilation) ceased recording entirely.

This is – as is the case with so many great New Orleans singers – a huge drag.

Fortunately for you good folks, ‘Get Ta Steppin’ is not a terribly well known or expensive 45, so get yourself a copy, drop the needle, turn up the bass and watch the dancers get down.

I hope you dig the tune, 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.

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By Larry, October 9, 2016 9:04 am

“Doctah Jawwwn, known as the Night Trippah…”

Listen/Download – Dr John – Big Chief MP3

Greetings all.

If you checked in to the recent (10/6) edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, in which I went into one of my musical obsessions, that being the New Orleans/LA Connection – of which our hero Mr Rebennack was a HUGE part – you will have heard me refer to the good Doctor as close to a genuine national treasure as we have.

He is a towering sequoia in the world of modern music (generally) and one of the last links to the old school of New Orleans giants (specifically), and the piano tradition therein (very specifically).

He has been playing and recording since the 1950s, and has also inhabited the guise of the Night Tripper since the late 60s.

He has appeared in this space (and on the podcast) many times, as leader and sideman, and today’s selection sees him returning to his roots and giving props to another giant.

Another king of the New Orleans sound, Roy Byrd, aka Professor Longhair, aka Fess, is the man who among other things, went into the studio with Earl King in 1964 and laid down one of the greatest pieces of music ever to explode from the grooves of 45RPM record, ‘Big Chief’.

When Dr John whipped out ‘Dr John’s Gumbo’ in 1972, with a cast of NOLA runnin’ pardners, working it out on a grip of Crescent City classics, ‘Big Chief’ is one of the songs he chose to do.

Dr John’s version of the song takes the piano of the original and moves it over onto the organ, and while he slows the pace somewhat, that second line swing is still there in all its glory.

Featuring some groovy rhythm guitar by none other than Alvin Robinson, an arrangement by Harold Battiste (with Dr John) and production by Battiste and Jerry Wexler, this version of ‘Big Chief’ has a sort of early 70s, smoked out vibe to it, which is cool, and it presents a nice, relaxed counterpoint to the piano-led atomic bomb of the original.

That said, if’n you don’t got you no Dr John, go and git you some.

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, October 2, 2016 11:03 am

Tommy Ridgley

Listen/Download – Tommy Ridgley – In the Same Old Way MP3

Greetings all.

Long time followers of the Funky16Corners thing will be aware of my deep and abiding love for the music of the mighty Eddie Bo.

In the annals of New Orleans R&B/soul auteurs, Bo resides in the pantheon with giants like Allen Toussaint and Wardell Quezerge.

His career stretched from the 1950s up until his death in 2009, and he was a prolific songwriter, recording artist and producer.

It was in my pursuit of anything and everything Bo-related that I dug up this 45 more than a decade ago.

Though I only knew the name Tommy Ridgley in passing, the presence of an Eddie Bo writing credit made me put the 45 in my keeper pile and bring it home.

The extent of Bo’s career is often difficult to pin down because like many of his contemporaries, he was at the mercy of the whims of the independent record industry, label owners, wrangling over publishing and restrictive contracts (like Toussaint, Bo often wrote pseudonymously).

That said, Bo was a busy man, on his own records, and crafting the records of others as a composer, arranger, producer, musician or any combination of the above.

Tommy Ridgley was a similarly situated, journeyman recording artist (though mainly as a singer), having started his recording career in the early 50s as a vocalist with Dave Bartholemew and then under his own name for a variety of national (Atlantic, Herald) and local (Ric, Cinderella, Hep’Me, Sans, Blue Jay, White Cliffs among others) labels up into the late 80s.

‘In the Same Old Way’ was released in 1969 but has a somewhat earlier sound.

Opening with a solid, basic rhythm section and a wonderful horn arrangement, Ridgely comes in (with female backing singers deep in the mix) with a great vocal.

The record was produced by local New Orleans DJ Bob Robin, aka Robert Echols who produced a wide range of NOLA artists through the 60s, including Gerri Hall, Senator Jones, Robert Parker and Van Broussard, as well as working as a New Orleans distributor/A&R guy for Stax records. Robin also produced Ridgley’s 1966 International City 45 ‘My Love Gets Stronger’.

Ridgley had a smooth tenor, with just a hint of a New Orleans twang to it, and though his chart success was minimal, it’s easy to understand why people kept taking him into the studio.

Ridgley continued to record into the mid-1990s, and kept performing until his death in 1999.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you 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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By Larry, September 25, 2016 10:29 am

Willie West

Listen/Download – Willie West – Keep You Mine MP3

Greetings all.

The beginning of another week is here, and as is my occasional custom, I bring you something guaranteed to ease you into things.

Willie West is one of the finest singers to come out of New Orleans, having recorded several amazing 45s back in the day, and then making a comeback in the last ten years.

His sides for Rustone, Frisco, Deesu, Josie and Warner Brothers, covering ground from deep ballads to spot-on funk are to the last, stellar examples of the greatness of the Crescent City.

Unlike many of his NOLA contemporaries, West had seen some success outside of the city, having had a hit with his first Deesu 45, ‘Greatest Love’ earlier in 1967 in a number of markets.

Today’s selection is the B-side of his second outing for Deesu (from 1967). ‘Keep You Mine’ (written by West) was paired with a rerecording of his first local hit, 1960’s ‘Did You Have Fun’, and it is not only one of my favorite NOLA ballads, but yet another incredible example of the sublime arranging and producing talents of the mighty Allen Toussaint.

‘Keep You Mine’ moves at a deliberate pace, with the instrumental backing just unobtrusive enough to allow West’s voice to shine, yet still filled with interesting touches that grab your attention with every listen.

The lead guitar accents, well-placed horns, and especially Toussaint weaving in and out with what sounds like a combo organ (really the co-star of the record) make this one for the ages.

Interestingly enough, the flipside of this record ‘Did You Have Fun’ (which deserves its own post) charted briefly in Detroit and New Orleans.

Willie West is another one of those brilliant, Toussaint-associated New Orleans singers, along with Eldridge Holmes, Diamond Joe, Willie Harper and Wallace Johnson, who really is deserving of having his work compiled and reissued by a quality outfit, capable of presenting it with the care it deserves.

I hope you dig this one as much as I do, and I’ll see you 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.