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By Larry, October 24, 2013 9:18 am

Funky16Corners Presents:It’s Gonna Be Good!

Johnny Jones and the King Casuals – It’s Gonna Be Good (Brunswick)
Albert Collins – Cookin’ Catfish (20th Century Fox)
Chuck Berry – Club Nitty Gritty (Mercury)
Atlantics – Beaver Shot (Rampart)
Little Richard – Soul Train (Brunswick)
Bobby Hollaway – Corn Bread, Hog Maws and Chitterlins (Smash)
The Turtles – Buzz Saw (White Whale)
The Vibrations – Soul a Go Go (Okeh)
Benny Scott – Soul Beat (Brunswick)
Junior and the Classics – Mix Up a Go Go (Magic Touch)
Jon Lee Group – Pork Chops (Sparton)
Ricky Allen – Cut You a Loose (AGE)
El Dorados – The New Breed (Port)
Danny White – Cracked Up Over You (Decca)
Louis Chachere – A Soulful Bag (Forte)
Timmy Thomas – Have Some Boogaloo (Goldwax)
Toussaint McCall – Shimmy (Ronn)
Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers – I Gotta Go Now (Up On the Floor) (Like)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Presents: It’s Gonna Be Good – 75MB Mixed MP3/256K

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your side of the universe, and that you’re all ready for the weekend.

Don’t forget that the Funky16Corners Radio Show hits the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at the time of broadcast, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 (or two, or 100) out of the archive here at the blog.

A while back my man DJ Trick over in St. Petersburg, RU asked if I would be amenable to doing an interview and whipping up a mix that they could post in their ‘Grooves’ project*.

As someone who is always down with the cause of spreading the sounds of soul and funk all over the globe, I agreed and set to work.

As you will hear as soon as you pull the trigger on this one, I was in a particularly raucous mood that day, packing just about 40 minutes worth of sonic nitroglycerin into mix form and setting the fuse.

What you get here, is some of my favorite, high-octane soul shouters, organ burners, hardcore R&B and dance party starters, stitched together so that the assembled multitudes might cut themselves a slice of rug (and maybe spill a little beer, too).

If you haven’t sussed it out over the long haul, this is a pretty good approximation of the kind of set I’d throw down were I spinning in a live setting.

That said, this is perfect weekend stuff, so get your download on, and have yourself a party, Artie.

Have a great weekend, and i’ll see you all on Monday.

Keep the faith

Larry

PS They’re posting the interview over there, but it’s in Russian…
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

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By Larry, October 22, 2013 11:52 am

Hank Marr

Listen/Download Hank Marr – White House Party

Greetings all

What say we all get over the hump with a certified, Hammond organ swinger?

Hank Marr was one of the great, exalted past masters of the greasy R&B/soul jazz organ 45.

He recorded a grip of sides (45s and lps) for Federal in early to mid 60s for Federal and King, before landing at Detroit’s storied Wingate label for one and a half 45s in 1966.

I remember the first time I was exposed to this little stick of dynamite, courtesy of my old friend Haim.

It took me a while to score myself a copy of this banger, but it has held a place of honor in my record box ever since.

Released in 1966, ‘White House Party’ (and its most excellent flip, ‘The Out Crowd’) is without question one of the finest, swingingest, slabs of Mod soul ever committed to vinyl.

While I have never been able to track down any detailed session information, my assumption has always been – spurred on by the sounds in the grooves – that this was a Detroit session (there are no production credits on the 45).

‘White House Party’ is especially groovy for all of the vocal interjections on the record, which (for the younger folks out there) are references to the presidency of Texan Lyndon Johnson, thus the ‘meanwhile, back at the ranch’ and ‘champagne and barbecued ribs’ shout outs.

It is a dance floor killer of the first order, with an aggressive arrangement (dig the way the bass and the horns push the record along behind Marr’s Hammond).

Marr also split a 45 with Sonny Stitt (Marr’s Groove b/w Stitt’s Groove, which has the catalog number just before ‘White House Party’) but as far as I can tell never had the opportunity to expand (at the time) on the remarkable sounds on these 45s.

Marr continued to perform (as well as teach) and recorded through the 80s and 90s, passing away in 2004 at the age of 77.

‘White House Party’ is the rarest of Marr’s 45s (it’s also, at least in my opinion, his best) and seems to be trading hands for around a C-note these days.

I hope you dig the sounds, 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.
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 (0)

By Larry, October 20, 2013 12:41 pm

The Toys

Listen/Download The Toys – Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby

Greetings all

Welcome to another week of soulful excellence here at Funky16Corners.

The tune I bring you today is an old favorite of mine.

Truth be told, the first verison I heard – and still one of my favorites – was by Question Mark and the Mysterians.
‘Can’t Get Enough of You Baby’ was a top 50 hit for Rudy and the boys in 1967.

During the 1980s the song was covered by the UK group the Colour Field in a fairly faithful (to the Question Mark version) rendering.

What I didn’t know when I was spinning that one back in 1985, was that the song had a deeper history, having been recorded twice before the Mysterians got their hooks into it.

Written by Denny Randell and Sandy Linzer, ‘Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby’ was waxed twice in 1966, by the Four Seasons, and by the group I bring to you today, The Toys.

Known to most for their 1965 mega-hit ‘A Lovers Concerto’ (#4 R&B, #2 Pop), the Toys, Barbara Harris, June Montiero and Barbara Parritt had a run of singles from 1965 to 1968 for the Dynovoice and Musicor labels.

Their version of ‘Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby’ is taken at a slightly more relaxed pace that the Four Seasons version (with a much cooler, more restrained arrangement) with just enough kick to get the dancers moving.

Oddly enough, if you listen closely you can hear some talking in the background at the beginning of the track.

Since most subsequent recordings of the song were modeled on the Question Mark and the Mysterians arrangement, it was a little jarring at first not to hear the combo organ, but the throbbing bass and rhythmic piano more than make up for it.

Interestingly enough, while ‘Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby’ went nowhere, its flipside ‘Silver Spoon’ (like A Lovers Concerto, adapted from a classical piece, Beethoven’s ‘Pathetique Sonata’) scraped the outer reaches of the Top 100 in 1966.

The Toys last chart placing was a cover of Bryan Hyland’s ‘Sealed With a Kiss’ in 1968.

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

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.
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.

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By Larry, October 17, 2013 11:30 am

The Lafayette Afro Rock Band

Listen/Download Lafayette Afro Rock Band – Oglenon

Greetings all

The end of the week is finally here, and so I implore you once again to turn your dials, this and every Friday night at 9PM to Viva Radio so that you might partake in the Funky16Corners Radio Show experience. If you can’t be there at the time of broadcast, you can subscribe to the show in iTunes, or grab an MP3 at the blog.

I thought I’d close out the week by continuing Wednesday’s drum-heavy groove, and dipping back into the crates for some more by the Lafayette Afro Rock Band.

I dropped their mighty ‘Hihache’ on you back in 2009, with it’s grooves and heavily sampled breakbeat.

The LARB was formed in (of all places) Long Island, NY, before relocating to France in the early 70s.

‘Oglenon’, a ten-minute epic (also from the ‘Voodounon’ LP) is one of those tunes where the drummers probably collapsed (or had to be replaced for the next song, anyway) after they were done.

The whole thing starts out with an extended drum passage, and returns to the drums again and again, interrupted briefly by the horns and the rhythm section.

‘Oglenon’ has that great, long-form Fela groove going on (especially that electric piano) and while they may reach a little further into the “rock’ column now and then, it’s still extremely funky.

I hope you dig the sounds, that you have a great weekend, and, as always that you…

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.
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.

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By Larry, October 15, 2013 10:54 am

Titanic

Listen/Download Titanic – Sultana

Greetings all

Welcome once again to the middle of the week.

Today marks the first (though maybe not the last) time you’ll see a record by a Norwegian band featured at Funky16Corners.

I have expressed my admiration for David Mancuso and his legendary loft parties in this space many times before.

Mancuso was one of the pioneering, early-70s DJs who helped to give birth to that decade’s dance culture while keeping one of the most open minds around.

Mancuso had amazing taste, and the ability to take a room and build a mood on the dance floor, taking the crowd from laid back, to ecstasy and back again over the course of an evening.

Though many of the records on his playlists were what we would consider to be conventional soul and funk, Mancuso was well known for mixing in a wide variety of rock, ethnic music and other unusual sounds fit the mood he was trying to create.

It certainly helped if the record had plenty of drums, and Titanic’s ‘Sultana’ has that in surplus.

Released in 1971 (and again in 1974 on a Memory Lane pressing) ‘Sultana’ (the name apparently a sly tip of the hat to Carlos and his band) got no play (outside of the clubs) here in the US but was a Top 5 hit in the UK.

‘Sultana’ is built on drums and percussion as well as a pulsing bass line and a wordless chant by the band. They are soon joined by wah wah guitar and Hammond organ, and continue the basic riff for nearly two minutes before breaking out briefly and thengoing right back to the drums.

It’s not at all hard to imagine Mancuso mixing this record into a set with the bass bins maxed out, the crowd sucked in by the infectious beat.

This is what ‘disco’ was, before it turned into disco (if you see what I’m saying).

The groovy thing is (or one of them anyway) is that ‘Sultana’ is something of a glitch in the Titanic discography. The band was together from 1969 to 1979, and from what I’ve been able to hear, their stock in trade was much more in a hard rock/prog direction.

That said, unlike so many anomalous, ‘breakbeat’-only rock records, ‘Sultana’ is a genuinely cool, funky, danceable record all the way through.

So thanks, Norway!

Dig the sounds, 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.
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.

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By Larry, October 13, 2013 12:08 pm

Geater Davis

Listen/Download Geater Davis – Don’t Marry a Fool

Greetings all

I thought we’d get the week started with some of that good, solid, stick to your ribs southern soul.

Thanks and credit go out to my man Kris Holmes, on who’s radio show (on Radio Ponsonby in NZ) I first heard today’s selection.

As has been discussed here before, I first found my way into the world of soul via its grittier, Southern variety, a la Stax, Goldwax et al.

The ensuing decades have brought all manner of soul and funk into my ears, but I always find myself rolling back to Memphis.

I don’t think I had ever heard anything by Geater Davis (though I knew his name) before Kris played this record on his show.

Vernon ‘Geater’ Davis was born in Texas in 1946, and recorded his first 45 (the one you’re listening to) in Memphis in 1970.

Davis recorded around two dozen 45s (for House of Orange, Seventy Seven, MT, Luna and Sunbelt) and a pair of LPs between 1970 and his untimely death in 1984.

He had a fantastic, bluesy voice with a gritty texture he could turn on and off at will, sounding at times like a deeper-voiced Bobby Bland.

‘Don’t Marry a Fool’, co-written by Davis and Reuben Bell, mixes bluesy guitar, a chugging rhythm section (the piano is quite nice) and a horn section to make a record that while not funk per se, is undeniably funky at its core.

The House of Orange label was the imprint of Allen Orange, who I’ve mentioned here before in relation to his early collaborations in New Orleans with Allen Toussaint.

If you want to read an amazingly in-depth tale of Orange, his recording and producing career, including a lot of info on Geater Davis, head on over to Red Kelly’s Soul Detective site.

The other side of this 45, the ballad ‘Sweet Woman’s Love’ edged its way into the R&B Top 50 in 1970. Davis had one more minor hit with ‘Your Heart Is Gold’ in 1973.

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

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.
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 (0)

By Larry, October 10, 2013 11:57 am

Listen/Download Kim Melvin – Doin’ the Popcorn

Listen/Download Kim Melvin – Keep the Faith

Greetings all

It is now that must do my Friday duty and remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs this and very Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. You can also keep up with the show by subscribing as a podcast in iTunes, or by grabbing an MP3 at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is a funky little dancer.

I first came upon Kim Melvin’s ‘Doin’ the Popcorn’ a couple of years back when my man DJ Hambone let it fly on the tables at Botanica.

The 45 was added to the old want list and eventually popped up for a satisfactory price, so I bought it.

Kim Melvin (aka Melvin Kimmons) was a Memphis-based singer who recorded a handful of 45s for local labels between the mid-60s and the late-70s.

‘Doin’ the Popcorn’ is a very groovy, very drum-my entry into the 1969 Popcorn sweepstakes (long dominated by James Brown and associated acts).

I really dig the organ on the track, as well as Melvin’s voice, as well as the chorus which has echoes of Junior Walker’s ‘Shotgun’.

The sax-o-mo-phones are cool, too.

If you are so inclined, give the flipside ‘Keep the Faith’ a spin.

The song is a passionate, if oddly executed ballad, with a band that sounds as if they keep losing the key (especially the organist who seems like he might be a touch deaf…).

Melvin’s vocal saves the whole affair, dragging it back into “inspired” territory, where it exists with records like the Twilights ‘Shipwreck’.

As always, I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

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.
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 (3)

By Larry, October 8, 2013 1:22 pm

Listen/Download Al Brisco Clark – Soul Food Pt1

Listen/Download Al Brisco Clark – Soul Food Pt2

Greetings all

Here’s a little riddle for you…

Q: When is a James Brown record not a James Brown record?

A: Probably when the Godfather is trying to hide from lawyers and/or accountants.

The record you see before you today is one of (many of) those.

I had heard of Al Brisco Clark’s ‘Soul Food’ long before I actually heard it, mainly because I am always on the lookout for “soul food”-related discs.

I finally grabbed a copy earlier this year, and after a little bit of emergency skip-removal surgery, in which me and my tone arm worked a little magic, I recorded it and bring it to you this fine day.

Imagine my surprise when I noticed the old ‘James Brown Production’ logo on the label.

This led to some info-digging, after which I discovered that Al, who was a baritone saxophonist in James’s early-to-mid 60s band (and is probably the “vocalist” on the record) was merely a figurehead, and that the organist on the track, the one who sounds like he’s playing with his elbows, is none other than James himself.

The “James Brown Productions” logo dates from Brown’s Smash years (Fontana was, like Smash a Mercury subsidiary), when he was betwixt and between with the King organization, and mainly releasing instrumental recordings (see Funky16Corners Radio v.17 James Brown – SMASHing Time).

‘Soul Food Pts 1&2’ is, like many “soul food” records, a recitation of delectables on top of an instrumental groove.

Here you get candied yams (always a fave), black eyed peas (the edible kind…) and mashed potatoes, among others.

Released in 1964, even the writing credit – ‘Ted Wright’ – is another James Brown pseudonym.

All in all, a groovy little biscuit, worthy of your sonic dinner (turn)table.

I hope you dig it, 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.
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, October 6, 2013 11:12 am

Miss Barbara Lynn

Listen/Download Barbara Lynn – You’ll Lose a Good Thing

Greetings all

Welcome to a new week here at the Corners.

A few weeks ago, I was watching one of those PBS clip-a-thons, and what should pop up on the screen, but film of Barbara Lynn performing on the 1960s, Nashville-based TV show, The Beat!!!

I had seen the clip before (I have a couple of the DVD collections that Bear Family released from the show), but my wife, who was sitting with me, had not.

She asked who we were watching, and I gave her the short version of the Barbara Lynn story.

She marveled at Lynn’s unique status as a singer/guitarist, and I said that although I had always kind of kept that thought on the back burner, it never really occurred to me how unusual it really was.

For those of you that don’t know, Barbara Lynn (born Barbara Lynn Ozen in 1942 in Beaumont, TX) hit the scene in 1962 with the record you see before you today.

‘You’ll Lose a Good Thing’ was an R&B #1 hit (Top 10 Pop) in June of 1962. While it was her only significant Pop hit, she managed to place a number of records in the R&B Top 100 (and a couple in the Top 40) between 1963 and 1971 for labels like Jamie, Tribe and Atlantic.

Lynn’s style was a mixture of R&B, soul and the blues, all delivered in her rich, soulful voice.

She also wrote much of her own material.

‘You’ll Lose a Good Thing’, one of the great, late night, slow dancers was recorded in New Orleans, with none other than Mac Rebennack on the keys.

As I mentioned earlier, though this was Lynn’s biggest hit, she went on to record a bunch of great stuff through the 60s and early 70s, including the sought after and oft covered 1966 classic ‘I’m a Good Woman’, and she’s still playing today.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

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.
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, October 3, 2013 11:02 am

Roy Head

Listen/Download Roy Head – Don’t Cry No More

Greetings all

The end of the week is finally upon us, and so that means that it’s Funky16Corners Radio Show time again. You can dial in this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio to lend your ears to the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. If you can’t be there at the time of broadcast, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes or grab yourself and MP3 here at the blog.

I thought it would be nice to close out the week with something upbeat and groovy.

Most of you will already be familiar with Roy Head and the Traits ‘Treat Her Right’, whether via the original hit (#2 R&B and Pop in 1965) or in any of the countless cover versions. That particular song is one of the finest, grooviest pieces of classic-era blue eyed soul ever committed to wax, and I’m here to tell you that it was far from a fluke.

Head who hailed from the burgh of San Marcos, Texas was recording with his group the Traits as early as the late 50s, laying down rockabilly, R&B and soul.

Though he only hit the national charts with the Traits that one time, the group had a number of regional hits, and Head himself popped back up in the Country charts in the 1970s.

The tune I bring you today is a very nice slice of R&B rave up, in which Roy and the boys re-channel the sound of the mighty Bobby Blue Bland, who first laid this number down in Nineteen and Sixty One.

‘Don’t Cry No More’ is a fast moving, horn-driven number with a great vocal by Head.

Extra credit goes out to whoever was laying down the superb guitar lines on this one.

The only downer is that the song fades out too soon, with Roy and the Traits sounding like they could have gone for another couple of rounds.

If you get the chance (and you haven’t seen them already) check out some of the vintage videos of Roy Head performances on Youtube. He was quite the mover in his day.

As always, I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

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.
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 (0)

By Larry, October 1, 2013 11:11 am

Hank Jacobs

Listen/Download The TKO’s – Can You Dig It

Greetings all

Here we stand, astride the week, Monday in the rear view mirror, Friday but a dream, but then, what’s the matter with Wednesday that can’t be fixed with some groovy music?

Some of you – particularly the organ hounds amongst you – will already be familiar with the sounds of the TKOs.

The group, which included, sometimes with top billing, piano/organ wrangler Hank Jacobs, recorded a grip of 45s for the Ten Star and Call Me labels in the mid-60s.

Both labels were sunsidiaries of Money Records (Don Julian and the Larks, Bettye Swan) operating out of Los Angeles.

The label got its start in the 1950s, went temporarily dormant in 1957 and then opened its doors for business once again in 1964.

Though I can’t give you a line-up for the TKOs – who had a Top 20 R&B hit with ‘The Fat Man’ in 1966 – it would seem that Hank Jacobs, who did a fair amount of studio work for Money/Ten Star was a constant.

Jacobs, who is known to Northern Soul fans for ‘Elijah Rockin’ With Soul’ was as adept on the piano as he was on the organ, often working both on his records.

Jacobs – who gets featured billing on the flipside ‘The Charge’ – works the piano in an R&B groove, anchoring ‘Can You Dig It’ even when the guitarist starts to take off into garage punk territory.

If you get the chance, pick up some of Hank Jacobs recordings for the Sue label, like ‘Monkey Hips and Rice’ and ‘So Far Away’, which are all excellent.

I hope you dig the sounds, 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.
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, September 29, 2013 1:50 pm

Kin Vassy (top) and at left with the First Edition

John Randolph Marr

Listen/Download Kin Vassy – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

Listen/Download The First Edition – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham (Live)

Listen/Download John Randolph Marr – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

Greetings all

I have something very special for you today.

A short time ago I met up with someone on Facebook with whom I had a mutual friend.

While perusing his timeline I saw that he had posted a video by the First Edition doing a song I’d never heard before called ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’.

If the name of that group is vaguely familiar, it was the spawning ground of none other than Kenny Rogers, and a band that had a couple of major hits, including their 1968 cover of Mickey Newbury’s ‘I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)’, which is featured prominently in ‘The Big Lebowski’.

Anyway…I gave the aforementioned video a spin and was blown away.

First off, while I own (and dig) a couple of First Edition singles, I had never heard them do anything like ‘Hello LA…’, and the live performance – from their early 70s TV variety show (included below) – is absolutely smoking.

The real revelation was the lead singer of the song, a cat named Kin Vassy.

Vassy (Kin was a truncated version of his middle name, Kindred) was the singer/guitarist with the First Edition, replacing Mike Settle in 1969.

He had been a member of the 60s folk group the Back Porch Majority, and had recorded a couple of solo singles before hooking up (and apparently during his tenure) with the First Edition.

One of these is today’s selection, ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’.

When I started digging around I was surprised that I hadn’t encountered the song before.

Co-written by Mac Davis and Delaney Bramlett, it was recorded by a wide variety of artists, including Blue Cheer, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band,  Juicy Lucy, and even Nancy Sinatra (you can seek out many of these on YouTube).

The popularity of the song doesn’t surprise me, since it has the kind of funky framework that works well at just about any speed, as well as a fantastic lyric about a cat that bags his home turf and goes on the road to seek success as a songwriter.

Though Mac Davis did record it. I haven’t been able to nail down who did the original version, since most of the ones I’ve found seem to pop up around the same time.

One other excellent version of the song (also included here) was recorded in 1969 by John Randolph Marr. It is in fact his version that was recently comped by Light In the Attic on their excellent ‘Country Funk’ collection, which brings me to the point I’ve been wanting to make.

There was something in the air (and the recording studios) of the South in the mid-to-late 60s and onward wherein (mostly) white musicians with a taste for gospel, R&B, soul and funk began to stir up a (if you’ll forgive the term) gumbo of those sounds with country, swamp pop and rock.

The most well-known and successful proponents of this sound were guys like Tony Joe White and Joe South, but you can also include folks like Bobbie Gentry and Davis in the mix as well.

While there’s a temptation to affix the term ‘blue eyed soul’ to some of these sounds, I think what we’re dealing with is something else entirely.

There were plenty of white soul singers working during this time period, including guys like Wayne Cochran and Roy Head, but they were by and large working solely in black styles.

The country funkers (for lack of a better term) were coming into their sound by creating an organic mixture of white and black styles, in the end creating something less than a movement but still a recognizable sound.

Little of the music made by these artists is out and out funk, but it is undeniably funky.

Kin Vassy’s studio version of ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’ works a mid-tempo funky beat, adding in twangy lead guitar (dobro, too) and Vassy’s hard-edged, soulful vocals. Hearing Vassy sing, with the First Edition and solo was something of a revelation. He was a mighty singer, and in an age where every leather-lunged, longhaired shouter was trying to approximate Wilson Pickett (who would have done a spectacular version of this song), Vassy was able to soar as well as work the quiet passages.

The First Edition manages (surprisingly enough) to toughen the song up even more. Vassy is wailing and drummer Mickey Jones dials up the funk a bit.

I decided to include John Randolph Marr’s take on the song for contrast. Though he takes things a slightly slower pace, the drums and bass are killing it, and Marr had cool, whiskey-tinged voice (I hear a bit of David Clayton Thomas in there). The rest of the album – co-produced by Harry Nilsson under the aegis of his Nilsson House Productions – is an odd mix of country soul and chamber pop.

Interestingly enough, after the dissolution of the First Edition, Kin Vassy spent a short time recording and touring with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. He’s featured on the ‘Overnight Sensation’ LP.

He went on to work as a session singer/musician, eventually settling in Nashville and having some success as a performer and songwriter.

Sadly, Kin Vassy succumbed to cancer in 1994 at the age of 50.

I hope you dig the sounds, 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.
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.