{"id":6295,"date":"2016-04-05T11:39:08","date_gmt":"2016-04-05T16:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=6295"},"modified":"2016-04-05T11:39:08","modified_gmt":"2016-04-05T16:39:08","slug":"the-majestic-choir-the-soul-stirrers-why-am-i-treated-so-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=6295","title":{"rendered":"The Majestic Choir & the Soul Stirrers – Why Am I Treated So Bad"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Listen\/Download – The Majestic Choir and the Soul Stirrers – Why Am I Treated So Bad MP3<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well.<\/p>\n

The tune I bring you today is a favorite of mine (which has appeared here \u2013on the blog or the podcast – in other versions by the Staple Singers<\/strong> (Pop Staples<\/strong> wrote the song), the Sweet Inspirations, Bobby Powell, the Wildare Express and Brian Auger Trinity<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Not only is it a very groovy song on its own \u2013 sonic \u2013 merits, but also because it has a certain genre flexibility and depth that made it a standard, but in several different settings.<\/p>\n

Originally recorded by the Staple Singers in 1965, the song was a perfect distillation of the group\u2019s unique mixture of blues, soul and gospel, bringing with it an explicit civil rights message that couldn\u2019t have been more timely. The Staples even took another \u2013 more modern\/soul \u2013 run at the tune a few years later, with Larry Williams<\/strong> at the board.<\/p>\n

The version I bring you today was recorded in 1967 (released in 1968) combining the voices of Harold Smith\u2019s Majestic Choir<\/strong> (who had done a few gospel albums for Checker) and the legendary Soul Stirrers\u00a0<\/strong>(who were also recording for Checker at the time).<\/p>\n

Sounding as if it were recorded 100% live in the studio, their version of \u2018Why Am I Treated So Bad\u2019 manages to come on with a soulful edge, due in large part to the funky backing band and the tight harmonies.<\/p>\n

Interestingly enough, Checker appears to have been reaching for a soul\/gospel crossover with the Majestic Choir (starting with a 1967 45 including versions of \u2018People get Ready\u2019 and \u2018What the World Needs Now\u2019) that predates the breakthrough of the Edwin Hawkins Singers<\/strong> by two years.<\/p>\n

I dig this version a lot, and I hope you do too.<\/p>\n

See you on Friday.<\/p>\n

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

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

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

____________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

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

Listen\/Download – The Majestic Choir and the Soul Stirrers – Why Am I Treated So Bad MP3 Greetings all. I hope the middle of the week finds you all well. The tune I bring you today is a favorite of mine (which has appeared here \u2013on the blog or the podcast – in other versions […]<\/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":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":[43,58,14,82,12,18],"tags":[171,166,181,164],"class_list":["post-6295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chicago-soul","category-cover-songs","category-funky16corners","category-gospel","category-soul","category-soul-45","tag-chicago-soul","tag-funky16corners","tag-gospel","tag-soul"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-1Dx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6295","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=6295"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6338,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6295\/revisions\/6338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}