{"id":3826,"date":"2013-04-21T14:58:35","date_gmt":"2013-04-21T19:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=3826"},"modified":"2013-08-03T14:12:58","modified_gmt":"2013-08-03T19:12:58","slug":"vince-montana-jr-1928-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=3826","title":{"rendered":"Vince Montana Jr 1928-2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Example\"
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\"Example\"
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Listen\/Download The Volcanos – Storm Warning <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download The Ethics – Think About Tomorrow <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1 <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download Brothers of Hope – Nickol Nickol <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download The Family – Family Affair <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes (Club Mix) <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

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

It was with great sadness that I heard last week of the passing of the mighty Vincent Montana Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re a Philly soul or disco head, that name might not be familiar, but the music he helped to make over a career that lasted more than 50 years most certainly is.<\/p>\n

Montana, known first and formost as a vibraphonist, but also a busy arranger and percussionist was one of the most important instrumentalists in the history of Philadelphia soul and funk.<\/p>\n

Though he got his start backing local artists like Frankie Avalon<\/strong>, Montana went on to be one of the core members of the Philly \u201chouse band\u201d that would become better known as MFSB.<\/strong><\/p>\n

His vibes stand out on countless Philly soul records from the mid-60s on, and his arrangers credit appeared on many of those record\u2019s labels.<\/p>\n

Montana\u2019s work is all over various and sundry smaller local labels (and recorded under various band names) as well as just about every major Philadelphia International session.<\/p>\n

Montana was also key in the formation of the Salsoul Orchestra<\/strong>, and through the disco era recorded with his own groups the Montana Sextet<\/strong> and Goody Goody.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tracks I\u2019ve selected really just scratch the surface of Montana\u2019s catalog, but all touch on some important point.<\/p>\n

The first is one of the greatest 60s soul 45s to come out of Philadelphia, and the first place I ever noticed Vince Montana coming through the mix as a sideman. \u2018Storm Warning\u2019 by the Volcanos<\/strong> is beloved by fans of classic soul, and Vince Montana\u2019s vibes have a lot to do with that. Vibes are \u2013 at least to my ears \u2013 one of the key sonic elements in Northern Soul, along with the baritone sax, and Montana\u2019s playing on \u2018Storm Warning\u2019 manages to keep driving the song forward while adding bright accents.<\/p>\n

The Ethics<\/strong> are another great Philly vocal group. \u2018Think About Tomorrow\u2019, arranged by Montana, was a local hit in 1968.\u00a0Give this one a couple of close listens and dig how Montana uses the strings, horns and vibes to frame the rhythm section. It\u2019s an exquisite example of the kind of classy record that would come to represent the Philly sound.<\/p>\n

Georgie Woods<\/strong> \u201cThe Guy With the Goods\u2019 was a Philadelphia radio legend, who decided in the late 60s (like so many of his radio brethren around the country) to dip his toe into the world of recording. \u2018Potato Salad\u2019 \u2013 also arranged by Vince Montana \u2013 is an \u2018adaptation\u2019 of vibraphone legend Lionel Hampton\u2019s<\/strong> \u2018Greasy Greens\u2019. You not only get to hear Woods laying down his rap, but also plenty of Montana\u2019s vibes working their way through the mix.<\/p>\n

The players that would form the core of MFSB would make records under a number of different names in the late 60s and early 70s. If you collect funk 45s, you\u2019ve heard bands like the Interpretations, Hidden Cost, Daley\u2019s Diggers, the Alliance, the Electric Indian<\/strong> and many more, all basically played by the same set of brilliant musicians, including Vince Montana.<\/p>\n

My favorite of these pseudonymous 45s is \u2018Nickol Nickol\u2019 by the Brothers of Hope<\/strong>. One of the great, mid-tempo funk 45s of all time, \u2018Nickol Nickol\u2019 features Montana\u2019s vibes throughout, but especially at the end where he lays down the \u2018Eleanor Rigby\u2019 quote in the run-off groove. This one was slept on for a long time, but the price has gone up considerably in the last few years.<\/p>\n

\"Example\"
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The Family – Family Affair, acetate and North Bay 45<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Though I\u2019m not featuring any MFSB \u2018proper\u2019 in this post, the Family\u2019s<\/strong> cover of Sly and the Family Stone\u2019s \u2018Family Affair\u2019, which was first released on the North Bay label, is basically an edited version of the track that would appear on the first MFSB LP.<\/p>\n

Vince Montana was \u2013 for most fo his career \u2013 a \u2018background\u2019 player, working behind the scenes, but in 1982 he had a dance hit in the US and the UK with the track \u2018Heavy Vibes\u2019. \u2018Heavy Vibes\u2019 is a sophisticated, jazzy\/funky bit of disco, with plenty of vibes (naturally\u2026). Here you get to check out both the edit and the extended club mix – both worth hearing.<\/p>\n

Vince Montana was a master, and though he was more involved than most, he was a very solid example of the importance of the unseen\/unheralded musicians that provide the backing for the music we love. People will do lip service to the house bands of labels like Stax, ensembles like the Funk Brothers or the Muscle Shoals group, but only the people with their heads (and ears) deep in the game know who the individual components of those outfits were, and that\u2019s a shame.<\/p>\n

The next time you hear the vibes ring through one of those great Philly records, elbow the cat next to you and say \u2018That\u2019s Vince Montana.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll see you all on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Keep the faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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

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___________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Click here to go to the ordering page.<\/strong><\/a>
\nAlso, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).
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\"Example\"<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vince Montana Listen\/Download The Volcanos – Storm Warning Listen\/Download The Ethics – Think About Tomorrow Listen\/Download Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1 Listen\/Download Brothers of Hope – Nickol Nickol Listen\/Download The Family – Family Affair Listen\/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes Listen\/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes (Club Mix) Greetings all It was with great […]<\/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_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[58,32,11,17,14,66,49,24,67,74,12,18],"tags":[110,163,166,25,164],"class_list":["post-3826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cover-songs","category-disconot-disco","category-funk","category-funk-45","category-funky16corners","category-instrumental","category-jazz-funk","category-northern-soul","category-obituary","category-philly-soul","category-soul","category-soul-45","tag-disco","tag-funk","tag-funky16corners","tag-philly-funk","tag-soul"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-ZI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826","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=3826"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4081,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826\/revisions\/4081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}