Comments (3)

By Larry, January 1, 2017 2:36 pm

Listen/Download – Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band – Spreadin’ Honey MP3

Greetings all.

Happy New Year everybody!

I was grooving in the back alleys of my iPod the other day and hit on an old favorite, which I was surprised hadn’t ever been written up here at Funky16Corners.

Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band are a familiar sound to most folks that have even a passing familiarity with classic funk and soul, as well as the millions of others who have heard them sampled by NWA (among others) and used in commercials.

The record you see before you is technically their first 45, from 1966.

I use the qualifier “technically” because there is a fair amount of doubt that any of the players associated with the band’s post-1968 run ever played on it.

Release in 1966, written by LA soul scene movers Fred Smith and Nat Nathan, ‘Spreadin’ Honey’ grazed the R&B Top 40 in 1967 (with some regional Pop success).

It is a pounding dancer with one of the great drum openings of all time, as well as some tasty piano and guitar.

It seems likely that absent the later Watts 103 cats, and considering those involved in the writing and production, and most importantly the sound, that Leon Haywood was the piano player. I wouldn’t venture a guess as to who else was in the studio, but I have seen some people suggesting that the guitarist might be Bobby Womack.

Oddly enough, the track was recycled later in 1966 on the MoSoul label as being by the Soul Runners!

It was soon after the success of this record that Charles Wright and the rest of the band slipped into the name, and recorded a grip of heavy stuff for Warner Brothers between 1968 and 1971.

It is a very solid groover, and I suggest you follow your hips, and get up and dance.

I hope you dig it, 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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 29, 2016 10:52 am

King and Queen

Listen/Download – Otis Redding and Carla Thomas – New Year’s Resolution MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week (at the end of the year) is here and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops 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 Stitcher and TuneIn, check it out on Mixcloud or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com

This has been a bitch of a year, and I don’t hold high hopes for the one on the way, but I will damn well make sure, here and out in the real world, to do what I can to make it better.

So listen to Otis and Carla, and ‘Let’s see how happy we can be”.

Right on?

Here’s a list of some Funky16Corners faves who transitioned out of the corporeal realm in 2016 (please let me know if I missed anyone) many of whom we paid tribute to on the blog or the radio show:

Otis Clay
Clarence Reid aka Blowfly
Maurice White
Leon Haywood
Jeremy Steig
Lonnie Mack
Prince
Billy Paul
Chips Moman F16C Radio Show Ep#321
Wayne Jackson
Bernie Worrell
Mack Rice
Bobby Hutcherson
Rudy Van Gelder
Prince Buster
Rod Temperton
Phil Chess
Clyde ‘City Gent’ Grimes of the Untouchables
Leon Russell
Billy Miller
David Mancuso
Mose Allison
Sharon Jones
Marshall Rock Jones of the Ohio Players
Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns
Clifford Curry
Little Royal
Rod Temperton
Robert Bateman (see Funky16Corners Radio Show #338) 
Sonny Sanders

Remember them all, and Happy New Year

And always, and in all ways

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 27, 2016 12:27 pm

Greetings all.

In continuation of our Christmas week ‘Best of’ grooves, I give you this selection of some of my favorite Northern Soul/soul dance mixes from the Funky16Corners Archives.

There are tons of storming dancers herein, so when you’re done wassailing, pull down the ones and zeroes and cut yourself a slice of rug.

And don’t forget to dig the Funky16Corners Radio Show, this and every Friday on iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, Mixcloud and Funky16Corners.com

Dig it, and I’ll see you all next week.

Keep the faith

Larry

 
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Carl Carleton – Competition Ain’t Nothing (Backbeat)
The Tams – Shelter (Probe)
Ambassadors – I’m So Proud of My Baby (Atlantic)
Billy Butler – Boston Monkey (Okeh)
Billy Harner – I Struck It Rich (OR)
Robb Fortune – Crazy Feeling (Now)
Tony Clarke – Landslide (Chess)
Patti and the Emblems – Please Don’t Ever Leave Me (Kapp)
Pat Lundy – Soul and Nothing But the Blues (Columbia)
Felice Taylor – Under the Influence of Love (Mustang)
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore at Me (Revilot)
Jackie Lee – P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y (Mirwood)
Platters – With This Ring (Musicor)
James and Bobby Purify – The Last Piece of Love (Bell)
Baltimore and Ohio Marching Band – Condition Red (Jubilee)
JJ Barnes – Sad Day A’Coming (Revilot)
Stagemasters – Baby I’m Here Just To Love You (Slide)
Soul Twins – Quick Change Artist (Grapevine)
Paul Kelly – Chills and Fever (Dial)
Bob Brady and the Conchords – More More More of Your Love (Chariot)

Funky16Corners Presents: Condition Red

Ted Taylor – Love Is Like a Ramblin’ Rose (Okeh)
Stereos – I Feel Soul a Comin’ (Cadet)
Benny Gordon and the Soul Brothers – I Can’t Turn You Loose (RCA)
Choker Campbell and his 16 Piece Band – Wild One (Motown)
Joe Jeffrey Group – My Pledge of Love (Wand)
The Contours – First I Look at the Purse (Gordy)
Derek Martin – Sly Girl (Tuba)
Exciters – Blowing Up My Mind (RCA)
Ferris Wheel – Number One Guy (Philips)
Carl Carlton – Hold On To What You Got (Big Beat)
Ella Fitzgerald – Get Ready (Reprise)
High Keys – Living a Lie (Verve)
Dobie Gray – Out On the Floor (Charger)
Ronnie Dyson – Fever (Columbia)
Shirelles – No Doubt About It (Scepter)
The Tams – Trouble Maker (ABC)
Garnet Mimms – Prove It To Me (UA)
Marvelle and the Blue Mats – Mellow Man (Dynamic Sound)
Billy Butler – Boston Monkey (Okeh)

Funky16Corners Presents: Out On the Floor

Danny White – Natural Soul Brother (SSS Intl)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – Dancing’s Alright (Tamla)
The Marvelows – I Do (ABC/Paramount)
Sugar Pie DeSanto – Go Go Power (Checker)
Tom Jones – Get Ready (Parrot)
Roy Lee Johnson – Boogaloo #3 (Josie)
Otis Redding – Love Man (Atlantic)
R. Dean Taylor – There’s a Ghost In My House (VIP)
Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels – Breakout (New Voice)
Lou Courtney – Me and You Doing the Boogaloo (Riverside)
The Rubaiyats – Omar Khayyam (Sansu)
Don Gardner – My Baby Likes to Boogaloo (Tru Glo Town)
Righteous Brothers Band – Rat Race (Verve)
Chris Clark – Love’s Gone Bad (Motown)
Syl Johnson – Come On and Sock It To Me (Twilight)
Fantastic Johnny C – (She’s) Some Kind of Wonderful (Phil LA of Soul)
Jackie Lee – The Shotgun and the Duck (Mirwood)
The Magnificent Men – I Got News (Capitol)
Wilson Pickett – Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Atlantic)
Wayne Cochran and the CC Riders – Goin’ Back to Miami (Mercury)

Funky16Corners Presents: Go Go Power

OV Wright – Love the Way You Love (Backbeat)
Billy Butler – Right Track (Okeh)
Lynne Randell – It’s a Hoe Down (Epic)
Thelma Jones – Stronger (Barry)
The Platters – Sweet Sweet Lovin’ (Musicor)
Christine Cooper – SOS (Heart In Distress) (Parkway)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)
Henry Lumpkin – Soul Is Taking Over (Buddah)
Barbara Banks – River of Tears (Veep)
Luther Ingram – If It’s All the Same To You (Hib)
Chuck Wood – Seven Days Is Too Long (Roulette)
Maurice and the Radiants – Baby You’ve Got It (Chess)
Parliaments – Don’t Be Sore At Me (Revilot)
O’Jays – I Dig Your Act (Bell)

Funky16Corners Presents: Soulshake – Live at The Subway Soul Club

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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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 25, 2016 12:07 pm

The Mighty Alen Toussaint

Greetings all.

Since it’s Christmas week and I’m taking some time to chill with the fam, I thought I would bring a couple of things up from the archive for your aural delectation.

What you see before you is a kind of ‘virtual boxed set’, the full, five part History of Allen Toussaint series that appeared on the Funky16Corners Radio Show at the end of 2015, right after Toussaint passed, and then from earlier this year.

If you didn’t catch it the first time around, and you dig Toussaint and Toussaint-related sounds, you couldn’t do any better than to pull down the ones and zeroes and spend an afternoon soaking in the sounds.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

 
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History of Allen Toussaint Pt1

A Tousan – Java (RCA)
A Tousan – Whirlaway (RCA)
Diamond Joe – Fair Play (Minit)
Chick Carbo – In the Night (Instant)
Chris Kenner –Johnny Little (RCA)

Willie Harper – A New Kind of Love (Alon)
Willie Harper – But I Couldn’t (Alon)
Benny Spellman – Fortune Teller (Minit)
Benny Spellman – Lipstick Traces (Minit)
Ernie K Doe – A Certain Girl (MInit)

Ernie K Doe –Mother In Law (Minit)
Stokes – Young Man Old Man (Alon)
Stokes – Whipped Cream (Alon)
Willie West – Hello Mama (Deesu)
KC Russell – Younka Chunka (Uptown)

Warren Lee – Star Revue (Deesu)
Warren Lee – Ever Since (I’ve Been Loving You) (Deesu)
Lee Dorsey – Ride Your Pony (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – Operation Heartache (Amy)
Lou Johnson – Little Girl (Big Top)
Lou Johnson – Walk On By (Big Top)

Benny Spellman – I Feel Good (Atlantic)
Frankie Ford – I Can’t Face Tomorrow (Doubloon)
Aaron Neville – Where Is My Baby (Bell)
Irma Thomas – What Are You Trying To Do (Imperial)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt1
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History of Allen Toussaint Pt2

Eldridge Holmes – Emperor Jones (Alon)
Eldridge Holmes – A Time For Everything (Alon)
Eldridge Holmes – Humpback (Jetset)
Eldridge Holmes – Gone Gone Gone (Jetset)

Eldridge Holmes – Worried Over You (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Until the End (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Wait For Me Baby (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – A Love Problem (Decca)
Eldridge Holmes – If I Were a Carpenter (Deesu)

Betty Harris – I Don’t Want to Hear It (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Sometime (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Nearer To You (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Mean Man (Sansu)

Benny Spellman – Sinner Girl (Sansu)
Diamond Joe – Gossip Gossip (Sansu)
Prime Mates – Hot Tamales (Sansu)
Curly Moore – We Remember (Sansu)
Art Neville – Bo Diddley Pt1 (Sansu)

John Williams and the Tick Tocks – A Little Tighter (Sansu)
John Williams and the Tick Tocks – Do Me Like You Do Me (Sansu)
Rubaiyats – Omar Khayyam (Sansu)
Willie Harper – You You (Sansu)
Wallace Johnson – If You Leave Me (Sansu)
Wallace Johnson – Baby Go Ahead (Sansu)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt2

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History of Allen Toussaint Pt3

Allen Toussaint – Get Out of My Life Woman (Bell)
Allen Toussaint – Hands Christian Anderson (Bell)
Allen Toussaint – We the People (Bell)
Allen Toussaint – Sweet Touch of Love (Scepter)
Allen Toussaint – Country John (Reprise)

Betty Harris –There’s a Break In the Road (SSS Intl)
Diamond Joe – The ABC Song (Deesu)
Earl King – Tic Tac Toe (Wand) 1970
Earl King – Street Parade (Kansu) 1970
Lou Johnson – Frisco Here I Come (Volt)
Rhine Oaks – Tampin’ (Atco)

Lee Dorsey – Four Corners Pt1 (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On) (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – Give It Up (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – A Lover Was Born (Amy)
Lee Dorsey – Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further (Polydor)

The Meters – Cardova (Josie)
The Meters – Good Old Funky Music (Josie)
Ernie K Doe – Here Come the Girls (Janus)
Willie West – Fairchild (Josie) 1970
Eldridge Holmes – Pop Popcorn Children (Atco)
Eldridge Holmes – The Book (Deesu)
Aaron Neville – Hercules (Mercury)
Labelle- Lady Marmalade (WB)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt3
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History of Allen Toussaint Pt4
Kent Allan – What Have I Done (ALON)
Willie Harper – Cloudy Weather (ALON)
Willie Harper – I’ll Never Leave You (ALON)
Stokes – Crystal Ball (ALON)
Stokes – One Mint Julep (ALON)
Art Neville – Too Much (Instant)

Raymond Lewis – Nice Cents Worth of Chances (Instant)
Buddy Skipper – Restless Breed (Smash)
Eldridge Holmes – CC Rider (ALON)
Eldridge Holmes – Poor Me (Alon)
Ernie K Doe – Hey Hey Hey (MInit)

John Williams and the Tick Tocks – Blues Tears and Sorrows (Sansu)
Rubaiyats – Tomorrow (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Can’t Last Much Longer (Sansu)
Diamond Joe – Look Way Back (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Selfish Woman (Brown Sugar)
Eldridge Holmes – Love Affair (Brown Sugar)

KC Russell – How Tired I Am (Uptown)
Lee Dorsey – There Should Be a Book (Amy)
Lee Calvin – You Got Me (Sansu)
Willie and Allen – Baby Do Little (Sansu)
Allen Toussaint – I Got That Feelin’ Now (Bell)

William D Smith – Take Your Pick (Do Your Trick) (WB)
William D Smith – I Feel Good With You Baby (WB)
The Meters – Here Comes the Meter Man (Josie)
Wallace Johnson – On My Way Back Home (RCA)
Wallace Johnson – I Miss You Girl (RCA)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt4
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History of Allen Toussaint Pt5
Betty Harris – Hook Line and Sinker (Sansu)
Betty Harris – Show It (Sansu)
Betty Harris – I’m Gonna Git Ya (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Beverly (Sansu)
Eldridge Holmes – Where Is Love (Decca)

Allen & Allen – Tiddle Winks (Minit)
Allen & Allen – Heavenly Baby (Minit)
Art Neville – Come Back Love (Instant)
Lee Calvin – Easy Easy (Sansu)
Ernie K Doe – Fly Away With Me (Janus)
Lee Dorsey – Sneaking Sally Through The Alley (Polydor)
Meters – Chug Chug a Lug (Reprise)

O’Jays – Lipstick Traces (Imperial)
Mel Taylor – Young Man Old Man (WB)
Willie Harper – A Certain Girl (Tou Sea)
Mohawks – Ride Your Pony (Pama)
Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Get Out Of My Life Woman (Elektra)

Esther Phillips – From a Whisper To a Scream (Kudu)
Pointer Sisters – Yes We Can Can (Blue Thumb)
Eldridge Holmes – Cheating Woman (Atco)
William D Smith – We All Wanna Boogie (WB)
Rhine Oaks – Oleancler (Atco)
Robert Palmer – Sneaking Sally Through the Alley (Island)

History of Allen Toussaint Pt5

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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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 22, 2016 11:24 am

Funky16Corners Christmas Party!
Ike and Tina Turner – Merry Christmas Baby (WB)
Otis Redding – White Christmas (Atco)
Soulful Strings – Jingle Bells (Cadet)
Albert King – Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’ (Stax)
Felice Taylor – It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It’s Spring) (Mustang)
Honey and the Bees – Jing Jing a Ling (Chess)
The Gems – Love For Christmas (Chess)
James Brown – Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto (King)
Charles Brown – Merry Christmas Baby (Jewel)
Count Sidney and the Dukes – Soul Christmas (Goldband)
Donny Hathaway – This Christmas (Atco)
Bobby Holloway – Funky Little Drummer Boy (Smash)
Clarence Carter – Backdoor Santa (Atlantic)
Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get It Together This Christmas (Fania)
J Hines and the Boys – A Funky X-Mas To You (Nation-Wide)
Freddy King – I Hear Jingle Bells (Federal)
Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore – All I Want For Christmas Is Your Love (Imperial)
Johnny and Jon – Christmas in Viet Nam (Jewel)
John Lee Hooker – Blues For Christmas (Elmor)
George Conedy – El Nino Del Tambor (Kent Gospel)
Soulful Strings (feat Dorothy Ashby) – Merry Christmas Baby (Cadet)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Christmas Party 124MB MP3

Greetings all.

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

What you have here is a re-posting of last year’s Funky16Corners Christmas Party mix, which gathers together an hour-long selection of holiday favorites that have been posted here over the years into one nice, juicy, festive, jingling, jolly package.

There’s all manner of soul and funk (and even a little blues) and it’s the perfect soundtrack for your wassailing, cider-mulling, gift giving and general merriment.

I hope you dig it, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, that you have a fantastic day!

See you next week with some special post-holiday collections.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 20, 2016 11:34 am

Freddy King

Greetings all.

We continue our tunes for the holidays with the flipside of a Freddy King record I posted last year around this time ‘I Hear Jingle Bells’).

This side is the bluesier, more melancholy ‘Christmas Tears’.

Released in 1961, and written by pianist Sonny Thompson (who plays on the track) and R.C. Wilson, it features King as rock solid guitarist (the role for which he is best known) and as an excellent vocalist (the part of the equation that is often forgotten).

King had a great tenor voice with enough flexibility to soar high into the rafters whenever he needed to.

It is a groovy one, indeed, and I hope you dig it.

We’ll be back right before Christmas with the Funky16Corners Christmas Party Mix.

Until then, be safe, be jolly (and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, just keep on being cool), and stay warm.

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, December 18, 2016 12:25 pm

The Staple Singers

Greetings all.

I thought we’d get our holiday festivities underway this year with a lovely two-sider from the mighty Staple Singers.

Originally recorded at part of their 1962 LP ‘The 25th Day of December’, ‘There Was a Star’ and ‘The Virgin Mary Had One Son’ were also released as a 45 that same year.

I have gone on in this space before about the pure, elemental power of the Staple Singers records, combining their group harmonies, Mavis’s soaring, explosive voice, and Pops’ Delta-rooted guitar playing into a thing of pure beauty.

‘There Was a Star’, written by Pops, and William Westbrook (though the 45 lists a third composer with the last name of ‘Rice’ but I haven’t been able to find out who that is, and most other sources only list the two writers), features a great lead by Mavis and call-and-response harmonies by Pops, Pervis and Cleotha. The backing is very spare, mainly Pops guitar, drums and a very judiciously applied organ popping in now and then.

‘The Virgin Mary Had One Son’ is a slow, almost mournful traditional song delivered with Mavis in the lead and group harmony over a bed of Pops vibrato guitar and drawn out organ notes. I haven’t been able to find any information about the source of the song, but it was also covered around the same time by Bob Gibson and Joan Baez together, and by Baez solo.

The 45 is a great microcosm of the earlier Staples sound, and like everything they ever recorded, a pure pleasure to listen to.

So dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something by Freddy King.

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 15, 2016 2:02 pm

Ike and Tina with one of the various iterations of the Ikettes

Listen/Download – Ike and Tina Turner and the Ikettes – I Want To Take You Higher MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which arrives each and every Friday laden with the finest in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can (and should) subscribe to (and rate) the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device with Stitcher, TuneIn or Mixcloud, or grab yourselves an MP3 right out of the Radio Show Archive right here at Funky16Corners.com.

The discography of Ike and Tina Turner is a very deep well indeed, into which we have dipped (and will continue to dip) repeatedly over the years.
During their long marriage and musical collaboration (both tempestuous) Mr and Mrs Turner made some of the heaviest R&B, soul and funk created during the 60s and 70s.

Tina had (and has) one of the great soulful wails, and Ike had remarkable musical instincts, as a composer, bandleader and producer (so remarkable that he ought to be remembered for his music as much as hs is for his reckless personal life and habits).

Today’s selection is a 45 pulled from their 1970 LP (in which the Ikettes get co-billing) ‘Come Together’, which featured a number of Ike Turner originals alongside covers of the Rolling Stones (Honky Tonk Women), the Beatles (Come Together) and the song you see before you today, Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘I Want To Take You Higher’.

Ike and Tina, having already borrowed from Sly (the riff from ‘Bold Soul Sister’ having originated in Sly’s ‘Sing a Simple Song’), return to his catalog for a straight cover.

The Ike and Tina take on ‘…Higher’ is hard-hitting, with Tina trading lines with the Ikettes, a heavy bass, wah wah guitar and a well-placed horn section.

The arrangement isn’t much of a departure from the OG, but you get to hear Tina working it out in place of Sly, and a solid guitar solo from Ike.
I was surprised to discover that this 45 was actually something of a hit, grazing the R&B Top 20 and making it into the Pop Top 40 in the Summer of 1970.

It is further testament to the heaviness of Ike and Tina, collectively and as individual giants of soul.

I hope you dig the track, 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.

Comments (0)

By Larry, December 13, 2016 12:02 pm

The Glass House

Listen/Download – The Glass House – Crumbs Off The Table MP3

Greetings all.

One of the first funky records I really fell in love with back in the day was Laura Lee’s epic ‘Crumbs Off the Table’, a record that still holds firm place in my all-time Top 10.

It is one of the finest productions to emerge from the house of Invictus/Hot Wax, Holland/Dozier/Holland’s amazing, post-Motown operation.

It was a few years after digging that record that I happened upon the 45 you see before you today, a version of the very same song by a group called the Glass House.

The Glass House version is not only the original recording of the song (written by H/D/H under the Ronald Dunbar/Edith Wayne psuedonyms), predating Laura Lee’s release (on the Hot Wax label) by three years. It was also the very first 45 released on Invictus after H/D/H’s break with Berry Gordy and Motown.

The Glass House was composed of Scherrie Payne (sister of Freda), Ty Hunter (who had been in the Originals) , Pearl Jones (who had recorded as Barbara Mercer) and Larry Mitchell. They were formed in 1969 and recorded two albums and a grip of 45s for Invictus between then and 1972, and during that period placed five records in or near the R&B Top 40.

‘Crumbs Off the Table’ was their biggest hit, making it into the R&B Top 10 (Pop #60) in the late Summer of 1969.

Their version of the song is very cool, edging over into funkadelic territory with some twangy guitar and a funky groove. Things are taken at a more relaxed pace than the Laura Lee version, and it has a great lead vocal by Scherrie Payne.

Of the group, only Scherrie Payne recorded extensively after their dissolution.

Edsel Records in the UK did a very nice reissue of the group’s two albums (plus bonus tracks) in 2010 and there is a solid Best Of available in iTunes.

I hope you dig the tune and I’ll see you 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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 11, 2016 12:15 pm

Trudy Pitts looking badass!

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.

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By Larry, December 8, 2016 2:27 pm

Listen/Download – Ann Mason featuring Little Mac and the Boss Sounds – You Can’t Love Me (In the Midnight Hour) MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us, and so is your weekly dose of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, coming to you 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 on your mobile device via Stitcher, TuneIn and Mixcloud or grab an MP3 out of the archive right here at Funky16Corners.com

The tune I bring you today is one of those excellent 45s from the classic soul era that, despite having more than one international issue at its time of release, carries in its wake little to no information about the artists.

You have heard both sides of this 45 on the Funky16Corners Radio Show (and in various mixes here at the blog) over the years, both the groovy organ instro by Little Mac and the Boss Sounds (actually the A side of the record) and the side I bring you today, ‘You Can’t Love Me (In the Midnight Hour)’ by Ann Mason.

Released in 1965, it is in most ways an answer record to Wilson Pickett’s huge hit of that year, but is also basically just that song with new lyrics.

There is literally nothing out there about Ann Mason.

The assumption has always been that she was from the Carolinas, much like the backing band that was led by Little Mac, aka Billy Mack aka Billy McDougal, a blind organist and singer from Greensboro, NC.

That said, it would appear that she never made another record (as opposed to Mack/McDougal who made several).

Her performance is powerful and self assured, and the record has been a dance floor favorite in the UK and France, both countries that saw issues of this 45 (on Atco).

As I mentioned, Little Mac made a bunch of his own records (under a couple of names), one of which I will drop here in the near future.

Until then, if you have any information about Ann Mason, please drop me a line.

I hope you dig the tune and have yourself a great weekend.

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.

Comments (1)

By Larry, December 6, 2016 7:14 pm

Up All Night With Freddy King!

Listen/Download – Freddy King – Funky MP3

Greetings all.

Freddy (Freddie) King was a blues master.

At least that’s what the title of his 1969 album said.

But King was much more than that.

If you have been a reader of the Funky16Corners blog for a while, you will have seen Freddy King’s stuff posted on the blog and played on the radio show.

He is a big fave of mine, from his influential early hits like ‘San-Ho-Zay’ and ‘Hideaway’all the way up to his Shelter Records albums.

King was, like Albert Collins, much more than a straight “blues” player, delving into R&B, soul and rock, and on today’s record, funk.

Recorded in 1969, with King Curtis’s band (the King co-wrote the song as well) augmented with cats like David ‘Fathead’ Newman, James Booker and Melvin Lastie, ‘Funky’ is a hard-charging instrumental that sounds like someone covered ‘Memphis Soul Stew’ with rocket fuel and lit it up.

The drumming by NY sessioner Norman Pride is rock solid (listen to that bass drum!) and King’s guitar is razor sharp.

King’s (who was also an outstanding singer) guitar playing was powerful, economical, and imaginative, and his influence on a generation of white (mosty English) guitar players cannot be overstated.

He even gets a namecheck in Grand Funk Railroad’s ‘We’re An American Band’!

Sadly, king passed away at the age of 42 in 1976, by all accounts having worked/partied himself to death (working 300+ dates a year and consuming more alcohol than food).

His work is pretty easy to put your hands on, on vinyl and digitally (his Federal/King, Cotillion and Shelter stuff is available in iTunes) , and if you’re not hip, you should get so, ASAP.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

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.