{"id":2141,"date":"2012-01-05T16:48:38","date_gmt":"2012-01-05T21:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.lunarpages.net\/?p=2141"},"modified":"2012-02-21T14:42:52","modified_gmt":"2012-02-21T19:42:52","slug":"dean-parrish-im-on-my-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=2141","title":{"rendered":"Dean Parrish – I’m On My Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dean Parrish<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

The US OG issue (above) and the 1970s UK reissue (below)<\/strong>
\n <\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download – Dean Parrish – I’m On My Way <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Greetings all.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The end of the week is here and I am all but exhausted.<\/p>\n

Lots to do hereabouts and despite the fact (or because of it<\/em>) that everything is going as planned all I want to do right now is find a spot on the couch and nod off for an hour or two.<\/p>\n

That said, a certain level of excitement is working its way through my stupor.<\/p>\n

I have happened upon a couple of exceptional records in the last few weeks \u2013 which will naturally appear in this space soon<\/em> \u2013 I got news of a very groovy DJ gig coming up this spring, and, best of all (at least for this moment) I get to end this week of Northern Soul with a truly stunning record.<\/p>\n

I do not recall exactly when or where I first heard \u2018I\u2019m On My Way\u2019 by Dean Parrish<\/strong> (I suspect it was on a mix tape many years ago) but it blew my mind and dug its claws deep into my brain (and my want list).<\/p>\n

I searched for thus record high and low for a long time, getting outbid time and time again (it is a very<\/em> popular record), eventually picking up a 1970s UK reissue so I could have it in my record box, and then, in a near mystical stroke of kismet, a nice, minty OG fell into my lap.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re familiar with my Timmy Thomas<\/strong> \u2018Have Some Boogaloo\u2019 saga –\u00a0 wherein I chased the record forever, won a copy, seemingly lost it and then via a series of trades and the vagaries of the international postal maelstrom, ended up with not one but two copies of said record –\u00a0 but ending up with doubles was a very groovy thing indeed.<\/p>\n

On the very day I got that extra copy of Timmy, a DJ buddy contacted me to ask if I might be up for a trade, I asked what he had to swap and who should be sitting at the top of his list, but Mr Dean Parrish.<\/p>\n

It was as if the hand of fate had slipped this monster of a 45 directly into my record box.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Released in 1967, the last of a string of a half dozen 45s Parrish (born Phil Anastasia<\/strong>) had recorded since 1964, \u2018I\u2019m On My Way\u2019 is one of those 45s (particularly Northern Soul faves) that sounds every bit a huge, hit record, but was actually \u2013 like so many others \u2013 an abject commercial failure.<\/p>\n

Though Parrish had had a regional success with his 1966 record \u2018Tell Her\u2019, \u2018I\u2019m On My Way\u2019 \u2013 written by Eliot Greenberg<\/strong> and Doug Morris<\/strong> (who had written \u2018Sweet Talking Guy\u2019 for the Chiffons<\/strong>, and another Northern killer \u2018The Next In Line\u2019 for Hoagy Lands<\/strong>) went nowhere*.<\/p>\n

This is (as I alluded to earlier) not a unique story, but once you\u2019ve heard the record in question it is especially puzzling.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m On My Way\u2019 grabs your attention instantly with its opening fuzz guitar line, leading into a brief opening verse before launching into a chorus that is so mind-bendingly anthemic you\u2019re likely to bruise yourself rushing to turn up the volume.<\/p>\n

Though Northern Soul favorites are often noted for their steady, four on the floor dance beat, \u2018I\u2019m On My Way\u2019 bucks that trend with verses that could almost be described as rhythmically awkward, but when you take the chorus \u2013 so much musical rocket fuel<\/em> \u2013 into account, it is very easy to understand why the record was the last of the legendary \u201c3 before 8\u201d<\/strong>** at Wigan Casino (the records played before closing time at every allnighter).<\/p>\n

The chorus of \u2018I\u2019m On My Way\u2019, with its mix of soulful vocals (by Parrish and the backing vocalists) and the soaring melody, from the moment where Parrish shouts \u2018Baby!\u2019 to the reprise of the fuzz guitar that closes the chorus, what you are hearing is 30 seconds of purely blissful music.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to picture a room full of nearly exhausted dancers whipping themselves into one last frenzy, grabbing the last few minutes of the night and wringing all that they can out of them, a tableaux played out on countless dance floors all over the world since people started spinning records for people to dance to.<\/p>\n

It is an anthem in every sense of the word and a fitting way to close out the week.<\/p>\n

Make sure you grab yourself an earful of the Funky16Corners Radio Show<\/strong>, this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio<\/strong><\/a>, or pick it up as an MP3 over the weekend here at the blog.<\/p>\n

Have a great weekend, and I\u2019ll see you all on Monday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Peace<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

*It has to be noted that after it gained Northern popularity \u2018I\u2019m On My Way\u2019 was reissued on Jonathan King\u2019s UK records in 1975 and proceeded to enter the UK Top 40. <\/strong><\/p>\n

**The \u20183 before 8\u2019 were “Time Will Pass You By” by Tobi Legend<\/a>, “Long After Tonight Is Over” by Jimmy Radcliffe<\/a>, and “I’m On My Way” by Dean Parrish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dean Parrish The US OG issue (above) and the 1970s UK reissue (below) Listen\/Download – Dean Parrish – I’m On My Way Greetings all. The end of the week is here and I am all but exhausted. Lots to do hereabouts and despite the fact (or because of it) that everything is going as planned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[37,46,14,24,12,18],"tags":[166,169,164],"class_list":["post-2141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blue-eyed-soul","category-digging","category-funky16corners","category-northern-soul","category-soul","category-soul-45","tag-funky16corners","tag-northern-soul","tag-soul"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-yx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2141"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2219,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141\/revisions\/2219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}