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By Larry, July 12, 2012 12:18 pm

Derek Martin

Listen/Download Derek Martin – Soul Power

Greetings all.

The end of another week is here, and so is your weekly helping of soulful goodness in the form of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We take to 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 fall by the blog and grab the show (or any of the previous 100 episodes) in MP3 form.

I’ll start by assuming that as fans of soul, most of you will already be aware of the undeniable awesomeness of Derek Martin’s ‘Daddy Rolling Stone’, one of the ur documents of the mod soul sound and a dynamite record on its own merits.

Derek Martin was himself a fantastic example of the kind of journeyman soul artist that made the 60s great.

He got his start in the R&B era, recording with the Sheiks and the Pearls (both groups also featured Dave Clowney, aka Dave ‘Baby Cortez’), then the Top Notes and Jimmy Ricks and the Raves (with whom he first recorded ‘Daddy Rolling Stone’ for Atco in 1962).

He recorded his own version of Otis Blackwell’s ‘Daddy Rolling Stone’ for Crackerjack in 1963, and then spent the rest of the 60s and the early 70s bouncing from label to label, recording for Festival, Roulette, Tuba, Volt, Buttercup, Vibration and All Platinum.

Today’s selection, ‘Soul Power’ was recorded and first released for the Detroit label Tuba in 1967, and later issued on Volt.

The tune, written and produced by Teddy Randazzo, is a funky number that quotes the Parliaments ‘Testify’ in the lead-up to the chorus.

Like pretty much everything else he did (with the exception of 1965’s ‘You Better Go’ which grazed the R&B Top 20) the excellent ‘Soul Power’ did not make a dent on the charts.

I’d be very interested in seeing someone put together a multi-label retrospective of Martin’s 60s and 70s singles. What I’ve heard shows not only a lot of talent, but also somewhat adventurous tastes.

Though it’s discography was relatively brief – less than 20 singles in its catalog – Tuba was a very interesting label, releasing soul, funk (Richard’s People’s mighty ‘Yo Yo’) and garage pop (the Cartoons and Friday Night and Saturday), gospel (Clara Ward) and soul jazz (Johnny Lytle).

I hope you dig the tune, 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, July 10, 2012 12:31 pm

Listen/Download The Poets – She Blew a Good Thing

Greetings all.

We’re in the middle of another (literally and figuratively) hot week here at Funky16Corners.

The tune I bring you today is an old fave of mine, and a you’d be hard pressed to find yourselves a sweeter bit of mid-60s soul.

‘She Blew a Good Thing’ by the Poets is one of those classic 45s that is eminently danceable, laden with sweet, soulful harmonies and packed with enough hooks to get you singing along.

One of two groups with the same name working in different parts of New York City (the other Poets recorded for Red Bird and eventually formed the basis for 70s hitmakers the Main Ingredient), the Poets recorded three 45s for Juggy Murray’s Symbol records in the mid-60s.

Led by Ronnie Lewis (who gets co-writing credit with Murray), the Poets also featured Melvin Bradford, Paul Fulton and Johnny James).

‘She Blew a Good Thing’ made it all the way to #2 on the R&B charts (scraping the outer limits of the Pop Top 40) in the spring of 1966.

The song is a longtime fave on the Northern Soul scene in the UK, where the group was billed (due to the existence of the storied Scottish beat band the Poets) as the American Poets.

Donald Height did his own (radically different) version of the tune for Jubilee in 1969.

I hope you dig the cut, 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, July 8, 2012 12:42 pm

The Pieces of Eight

Listen/Download The Pieces of Eight – Come Back Girl

Greetings all.

Welcome to another hot, sweaty summer week at Funky16Corners.

The song I bringh you today was one of those happy discoveries that come upon you when you take the time to flip over a 45.

Many years ago, someone (I forget who now) hepped me to a groovy version of the Jimmy Smith instro ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf’ by a group called the Pieces of Eight.

Though I was led to believe that this was a white, southern band (much like the Bad Boys), I knew little else about them.

A few years after that, while out in the field digging I happened upon another Pieces of Eight 45 (TNT) and grabbed it.

That 45 sat in a box of records for a few more years, until one day, while engaged in one of my periodic re-digging sessions – in which I sift through my own crates in search of things I missed the first time around – that I was lucky enough to drop the needle on the tune you see before you today, ‘Come Back Girl’.

As fine a piece of equal opportunity soul as I have ever heard (it even grabbed the ears of the mighty Mr Finewine when I spun it one night at Botanica in NYC) ‘Come Back Girl’ is another window into the wonders of the ‘Beach Music’ scene.

Though I have only skirted its frontiers while digging for information, the Beach Music scene, based mainly out of the Southeast (Carolinas and Georgia) has, like Northern Soul in the UK, a largely white fan base.

Unlike Northern Soul, Beach Music had, and still has a tradition of homegrown show bands that toured (and recorded) all over the South, many of them also, largely white.

That said, the scene is built on R&B and soul, much of that, recorded and performed by black artists, many of whom were backed by the white bands as they toured in the South.

The Pieces of Eight were formed in the mid-sixties when two members of the Swinging Medallions split off on their own and joined up with a band called the Tassels. The new band had a hit in several national markets with the tune ‘The Lonely Drifter’ (also recorded by the O’Jays) and released a few 45s on regional labels that were later picked up by A&M and Mala for national distribution.

Written by the group’s guitarist Carlie Barbour, ‘Come Back Girl’ is a perfect example of the kind of shuffle so common on Beach Music dance floors, combined with an uptempo, sweet soul feel.

Though it gets said over and over again about countless, obscure records, ‘Come Back Girl’ really should have been a hit.

Unfortunately, outside of a few regional Top 40 appearances toward the end of the summer of 1967 in Alabama and North Carolina, the record didn’t make a dent.

That’s too bad, because it’s a killer.

As Pieces of Eight 45s go, it’s not the most expensive, but seems to run north of $25 or $30 bucks when it turns up.

I hope you dig it, 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, July 7, 2012 10:45 am

The crowd spilling out onto East 5th St

DJ Prestige doing his thing on the ones and twos

A selection of Eilon’s photos, your’s truly (with a little Corner) right in the middle

Northampton, MA represent, DJ Andujar and Bongohead, both photo subjects

The stylish Funky16Corners sticker makes and appearance on a record box!

Greetings all.

While I would not normally spend a blazing hot Friday evening motoring into NYC when I could be lounging around with a cold drink instead, I had to make an exception last night.

My buddies Eilon Paz (photographer) and DJ Prestige (DJ/Blogger) were having an opening for the Dust & Grooves photo exhibition at the Tropicalia In Furs store (on East 5th St in NYC).

If you’re not alraedy hip, Dust & Grooves is an ongoing project wherein Eilon documents the world of record collecting via photo essays. Yours truly was an early subject of his, and a look at the Dust & Grooves site will show you that he has already traveled far and wide in his quest.

Eilon has been all over the US, as well as Israel, France, and Turkey, with plans to cast his net even wider this summer with an extensive tour that he will document in stills, and will be captured on video as well.

The Dust & Grooves site has already touched base with many heavy hitters in the vinyl game (DJs, collectors, documentors, many of whom attended the opening) and the summer trip will be part and parcel of preparation for the creation of a photo book.

They’ve put together a Kickstarter to help fund the project (watch the videos here).

It’s a pleasure to be part of this great project, and it was a gas to be there as it moves on to the next chapter.

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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, July 5, 2012 1:42 pm

Freddie McCoy – Gimme Some (Cobblestone)
The Peddlers – Impressions Pt3 (Philips)
Al Hirt – Harlem Hendoo (RCA)
Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations (Cadet)
Eddie Harris – Silver Cycles (Atlantic)
Hampton Hawes – Josie Black (Prestige)
Johnny Pate – El Jardia Reprise (ABC)
Sergio Mendes – Coming Home Baby (Atlantic)
Gabor Szabo – Rambler (CTI)
Soul Merchants – For Wes (Weis)
Odell Brown – Come Together (Cadet)
Joe Zawinul – Soul of a Village (Vortex)
Brother Jack McDuff – Moon Rappin’ (Blue Note)
Young Holt Unlimited – Mystical Man (Paula)
Norman Whitfield – Sunrise (MCA)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Presents Quiet Earth – 114MB Mixed Mp3/256K

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end.

It’s the end of the week again, so that means it’s Funky16Corners Radio Show time, this (and every) Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. You can also come by this very spot on the weekend and pick yourself up an MP3 version of the show, or more than 100 previous episodes in the archive.
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Also, in other news, my man Eilon Paz, photographer and founder of the Dust and Grooves site is having a show of his vinyl portraiture (he featured yours truly back in the day) at the Tropicalia In Furs store, with an opening event this Friday night July 6th from 7-10PM.

There will be photos from his various D&G features, as well as vinyl (natch) DJ sets by my man DJ Prestige and the mighty Supreme La Rock.

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As mentioned here in recent weeks, I have been stockpiling blog posts (and episodes of the radio show) so as to keep things as seamless as possible during the period my wife is undergoing treatment.

I’ve managed – thanks in large part to scrambling wildly and using every available sliver of available time (kind of like the pink slime of blogging) – to stay a few weeks ahead of the game.

Thanks to this, and an unexpected full day at home, I was able to sit down and put together a mix I’d been ruminating on for some time.

It was one of those – ‘I’m rolling a few songs with a similar feel around in my fevered brain’ – things that I eventually brought to fruition in mix form.

I also tried something different, by giving the mix a preliminary airing on Soundcloud several weeks ahead of its publication here (albeit at a lower bitrate).

What you have here is a fine example of one of my favorite kinds of mixes, that being a slightly downtempo, late night vibe, replete with a soupcon of funky beats, sampleable loops and the kind of goodness that makes your ears feel warm and happy when ensconced in headphones (or ensconcing earbuds, however you choose to roll).

There are a couple of tracks here that have either been featured individually on the blog, appeared in a differently framed mix, or in a live set here or there.

There are also more than a few very groovy tracks making their Funky16Corners debut.

That all said, I think that if you cue this one up, mix yourself a potent beverage and turn down the lights, you will be satisfied (at least musically).

I hope you dig the mix and I’ll see you all later in the week.

Keep the faith

Larry

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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, July 3, 2012 1:11 pm

These Are the JBs!

Listen/Download The JBs – Hot Pants Road

Greetings all.

I don’t know about you all, but I would like to hit the middle of the week on the funky tip.

What better way to do that than a visit with out old friends, the mighty JBs.

“The JBs? Again?!” you exclaim.

Sure, sure, sure… the JBs have appeared in this space many times over the years, and I can assure you that thanks in large part to the incredible depth and quality of their discography they will do so, again and again until I have no more JBs to share with you.

They were – as a group and individually – right, tight and out of sight, with extra credit given due to the fact that they were led (much of the time) by the tromboniest of all the funky trombonists, the mighty Fred Wesley, and worked in service of the Minister of the Super Heavy Funk, James Brown, (mentioned on the label of this 45 no less than four times) backing him on all of his records and following his lead on their own.

‘Hot Pants Road’ from 1972 is worth hearing for its own powerful goodness but because it ties in with one of the more interesting footnotes in all of James Brown-dom.

Some years back (five years ago, in fact) I wrote up a very interesting 45 in this space by the AABB (Above Average Black Band), who were in fact a pseudonymous JBs recording at the behest of Soul Brother Number One who had his hot pants in a twist because he felt that the funky Scots in the AWB (Average White Band) (I see what you did there James…) were stealing his game with their hit ‘Pick Up the Pieces’.

He had the JBs go back into the studio and hit back with a tune they called ‘Pick Up the Pieces One By One’ which was for all intents and purposes a very slightly reworked version of the song you see before you today.

‘Hot Pants Road’ is by far the superior version of the tune, at least as far as the funk quotient is concerned with some extra-tight rhythm guitar and a nice organ solo right down the middle (The AABB reworking is a little lighter and disco-fied, which is cool, but not AS cool, if you know what I mean).

This isn’t to say that you oughtn’t pack a copy of each in case of a funky emergency.

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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, July 1, 2012 10:57 am

Linda Lyndell

Listen/Download Linda Lyndell – What a Man

Greetings all.

Welcome to a sweltering new week here at Funky16Corners.

The track I bring to you this fine day is one you certainly know, even if you don’t know it.

Bear with me…

There are a number of 45s in my crates that I carry with me not only because they are fine records in and of themselves (as is this one) but rather because they carry with them the power of surprise.

Few things are more fun for me as a DJ than whipping something onto the turntables and having a whole dance floor full of people perk up there ears because they recognize something that is at once familiar (the song that sampled it) and strange (and the song from which it was sampled).

That portion of the box is reserved for cuts like Jimmy Bo Horne’s ‘Let Me Be Your Lover’ (the Stereo MCs ‘Connected’) and Just Brothers ‘Sliced Tomatoes’ (Fatboy Slim’s ‘Rockafella Skank).

Occasionally you get the angry crank or two who is incensed that you’re not playing the more popular/modern record, but mostly people get a kick out of it.

When I drop Linda Lyndell’s ‘What a Man’, most people’s ears start to hear Salt’n’Pepa’s 1994 hit ‘Whatta Man’.

Though Salt’n’Pepa bring the drums a little heavier, the Linda Lyndell OG is undeniably sexier.

The song is funky – yet not quite funk – with the guitar, bass and electric piano winding around each other. Lyndell’s vocal is outstanding, and the backing vocals have just a touch of gospel in them.

‘What a Man’ made it all the way to #50 R&B in August of 1968.

The rest of Lyndell’s story, though short, is extremely interesting.

Growing up in Florida, singing gospel in both white and black churches, Lindell was brought to the attention of Isaac Hayes and David Porter at Stax by DJ Dave Crawford (who wrote this song).

Despite the production credit going to Crawford, ‘What a Man’ was recorded in Memphis, a fact underlined by those undeniable Memphis horns.

Lydell recorded two 45s for Volt, then, beset by threats from both whites (including the KKK) and blacks upset about her place as a white singer of black music, she left the music business and went on with her life, not singing professionally again until 2003 at the opening of the Stax Museum in Memphis. It was there that she performed ‘What a Man’ live for the very first time.

I hope you dig the cut, and I’ll be back 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 28, 2012 3:00 pm

Len Barry

Listen/Download Len Barry – I Struck It Rich

Greetings all.

The end of another week is here, and so is your weekly dose of soul in the form of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We take to 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 fall by the blog and grab the show (or any of the previous 100+ episodes) in MP3 form.

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Also, in other news, my man Eilon Paz, photographer and founder of the Dust and Grooves site is having a show of his vinyl portraiture (he featured yours truly back in the day) at the Tropicalia In Furs store, with an opening event Friday night July 6th from 7-10PM.

There will be photos from his various D&G features, as well as vinyl (natch) DJ sets by my man DJ Prestige and the mighty Supreme La Rock.

You might even see a picture of me!

If time and life allows I’m going to try to make it out to this one. I hope to see you there!

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

Len Barry is a name that should be familiar to soul fans, especially with a focus on the sounds of Philadelphia.

Barry – nee Leonard Borisoff – got his first taste of chart success as a member of the Dovells.

He first hit big in 1965 with the brilliant ‘1-2-3’ in the summer of 1965, which almost hit #1 Pop and grazed the R&B Top 10.

When I describe that record as ‘brilliant’ I’m not kidding. It was written by Barry with John Madara and David White (both Philly mainstays) and sports a stunning arrangement by Jimmy Wisner.

Barry is one of a number of soulful white singers from the Philly/Baltimore axis, including Billy Harner (more on him in a moment), Daryl Hall (then in the Temptones), and Bob Brady (of the Conchords).

Barry’s Decca sides from 1965 and 1966 are excellent and worth seeking out (including his improbably cool version of ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story).

The number I bring you today charted regionally in the Northeast in the summer of 1966 (almost exactly a year after ‘1-2-3’).

The first time I heard ‘I Struck It Rich’ it was via the version by the aforementioned Billy Harner.

Harner, a Philly-area native (south Jersey actually) recorded a grip of fantastic records in the 60s for a variety of local and nationally distributed labels. His version of ‘I Struck It Rich’ takes a slightly rougher tack that Barry’s, and a for a while it was my favored version of the two.

However, as the years went on, and I got deeper into the stylish sounds of Northern Soul, Len Barry’s improved greatly in my eyes (and ears, of course).

Co-written by Barry with the mighty Gamble and Huff (and arranged again, by Wisner) ‘I Struck It Rich’ is up there with the best of Philly soul.

As a vocalist, Barry is much closer to the Smokey Robinson mold (not as close as Bob Brady…) than Harner, a rougher singer with a deeper register.

That all said, I’d be happy spinning either version for dancers.

I hope you dig the tune 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, June 26, 2012 1:11 pm

The Drifters

Listen/Download The Drifters – At the Club

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is here, and so are some groovy sounds.

One of my favorite things – at least as far as soul 45s go – is finding groups associated with a slightly earlier era placing records on the R&B charts well into the soul era.

Here at Funky16Corners, whether in mixes of individually, we’ve seen cuts by groups like the Rivingtons, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Platters and others.

The cut I bring you today, ‘At the Club’ by the Drifters is another great example of the trend.

Written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, arranged by Teacho Wiltshire and produced by Bert Berns  (misspelled here as ‘Burns’), ‘At the Club’, which made it into the R&B Top 10 in February of 1965 was the last Drifters record to make it that high in the charts (they would only chart two more times in the 60s).

With a lead vocal by Johnny Moore (who would, over the course of two stints in the group become their longest serving member) , ‘At the Club’ has an underpinning of Latin percussion, tastefully employed horns and strings (and an unusually loud cowbell).

There’s enough rhythmic momentum to keep the dancers moving, while retaining the stylish, urban gloss of their earlier hits.

‘At the Club’ was also popular on the dance floors of the UK, with the Drifters appearing at the Twisted Wheel several times in the mid-to-late 60s.

I hope you dig the cut, and a 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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 24, 2012 2:10 pm

Babatunde Olatunji (bottom center) and friends

Listen/Download Olatunji – Soul Makossa (LP Edit)

Greetings all.

Welcome back to the blog-o-riffic polygon with the sixteen funky corners.

I must first and foremost offer my hearty and sincere thanks to all of you that made the 2012 Pledge Drive/Allnighter a big success.

Props to all the selectors who dipped into their crates to whip up some new, tasty mixes for you all, and then double super props to all of you that dipped into your wallets and dropped some cash into the virtual tip cup.

As has been the case over the past six Pledge Drives, all were generous, and some of you exceptionally so.

I am always humbled when my yearly request for funding yields such an enthusiastic response from those of you that read/participate in the discussion at Funky16Corners.

Many of you sent along notes of praise and encouragement and I am here to say that those mean a great deal to me.

Funky16Corners has always been a labor of love, and when some of that comes back my way, it provides the fuel that keeps things going.

So, once again, major, MAJOR thanks to you all!

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The tune I bring to you this fine day, is yet another iteration in what might be termed the great Soul Makossa wars of 1973.

As has been mentioned in this space before, when imported records of Manu Dibango’s mighty ‘Soul Makossa’ began to set fires to the dance floors of America (first in NYC where David Mancuso first spun it at Loft parties after finding a copy in a Jamaican record shop in Brooklyn), the OG by the Lion of Cameroon was only available on a French pressing on Fiesta.

The song was so popular, that a wave of imitation Soul Makossas began to build, with countless versions recorded and pressed for the US market to take advantage of the consumer demand that Dibango and Atlantic records had yet to address.

There were recordings by Afrique (released at the same time as Dibango’s and chasing it on the R&B and Pop charts), Simon Kenyatta Troupe, Mighty Tom Cats, Grupo Guerra 78, Lafayette Afro Rock Band, Johnny Zamot and many others. Even Doc Severinson recorded a version!

The song was a huge worldwide hit with more than half a dozen versions charting simultaneously through 1973.

One of the many ‘copycat’ recordings – in my opinion the best by far – was by the mighty Babatunde Olatunji.

Recorded for his 1973 Paramount LP of the same name, Olatunji’s ‘Soul Makossa’ clocks in at a dance-floor-friendly 6:51. Loaded – as might be expected – with lots of African percussion as well as his own vocalizations, the Olatunji version is a killer.

While I’d go as far to say that none of the cover versions have the sharp kick of Manu Dibango’s OG, Olatunji acquits himself very nicely indeed.

Where many of the other versions were relatively quick, single-length rip-offs of the OG, Olatunji takes the time to dig deep and stretch out, accenting the percussion (natch…) and meeting Manu Dibango toe to toe.

The rest of the album is quite good as well (the track is also available as a two-part 45).

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all later in the week.

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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (8)

By Larry, June 17, 2012 4:24 pm

Greetings all.

Welcome to the third annual Funky16Corners Pledge Drive/Allnighter!

Though we’ve been doing the Pledge Drive thing since2006, the Allnighter concept first rolled out in 2010, with several hours of mixes by some of the finest selectors I know.

This year we have most of the usual suspects, including several Asbury Park 45 Sessions alumni, as well as my man Tony C from the UK and Tarik Thornton.

The sounds run the gamut of classic soul, funk, reggae, rock steady, old school Hammond 45s and all connective points in between.

If you read the blog on the reg you already know that the past year has been an exceptionally challenging one here.
It wouldn’t be reaching to state that keeping Funky16Corners (and Iron Leg) up and running had a lot to do with maintaining my sanity over the last eight months.

There’s something to be said for keeping a small island of creative stability afloat during a crisis, and that’s what the blog has been.

Much of that has – as always – come from the interchange with the readers, listeners, fellow vinyl travelers, and DJs. Your contributions, whether informational, conversational, sometimes monetary or sometimes all of the above, have kept Funky16Corners rolling along.

This November will mark the 8th anniversary of the blog (something akin to 800 internet years!) and creating and running the blog has become a big part of my life. Through it I’ve learned a great deal, met many incredibly cool people and gotten to DJ in many, many cool places.

The Pledge Drive aspect of this yearly event is an important one.

Funky16Corners – all of the text, graphics and sound files – resides on paid server space, a bill that comes due around this time every year. Your donations help pay for that.

Blogging has always been an ephemeral pursuit, partly because not everyone has the interest in keeping one going for very long, but also because it rarely rises above the level of a casual pursuit for most people. They start a blog, post most files temporarily and depart as soon as their interest wanes.

Funky16Corners may very well have gone the way of most blogs (I don’t know the actual percentage of music blogs that last more than a year, but anecdotally I’d guess that it’s below 10%) but after getting it rolling (with a slightly different format) in 2004, and changing platforms twice (finally ending up with the self-hosting WordPress model) I think we have at long last settled into lasting form.

The basic format of how I communicate with the audience through the blog has always remained fairly constant, with a pictures and labels (what the vinyl nerds of the world know as record porn) and some written context to tie it all together.

Along the way, the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast mixes worked their way into the flow, then the actual Funky16Corners Radio Show (Friday nights at 9PM on Viva Radio and then archived here) and then in 2010 the Funky16Corners Soul Club/Allnighters so I could present mixes by other selectors.

What we have now, in the middle of 2012 is –including this year’s Allnighter mixes – close to 150 mixes and another 110 episodes of the radio show on-line for your (and my) listening pleasure.

And my friends, pleasure is what it’s all about; the pleasure that great music, some rare, some not so rare, can bring to those willing to open their ears.

That’s why I do it, and as always, I hope you dig it.

If you do, and you can afford to, please click on the Paypal link and drop a few coins in the basket.

There’ll be stickers for everyone that donates.

So, I’ll offer you my thanks once again, and hopefully we’ll all be together again this time next year for more of the same.

Keep the Faith
Larry

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CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

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Funky16Corners Presents: Tear It Up
Billy Wade and the 3rd Degrees – Tear It UP Pt1 (ABC)
Alvin Cash and the Scott Bros Orchestra – Keep On Dancing Pt2 (Toddlin’ Town)
Jerry-O – Funky Four Corners (White Whale)
Gunga Din – Snake Pit (Valise)
Lou Donaldson – Say It Loud (Blue Note)
James Young and the Housewreckers – Barking Up the Wrong Tree (Jet Stream)
Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers – Raw Funky (Tower)
Syl Johnson – Annie Got Hot Pants Power Pt2 (Twinight)
African Echoes – Big Time (Phil LA of Soul)
Bill Cosby – I Luv Myself Better Than I Luv Myself (Capitol)
Bobby Byrd – Keep On Doin’ What You’re Doin’ (Brownstone)
Lonnie Youngblood – African Twist Pt1 (Loma)
Little Sonny – Sonny’s Bag (Revilot)
Jimmy ‘Mr Motion’ Lynch – There Was a Time Pt1 (La Val)
Juggy – Buttered Popcorn (Sue)
Creative Funk – Funk Power (Creative Funk)
Freddy King – Funky (Cotillion)
Billy Wade and the 3rd Degrees – Tear It Up Pt2 (ABC)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners – Tear It Up!
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DJ Bluewater – Merritones
The Zodiacs Walk On By
The Ethiopians Miss Nora
Merritone Singers House Upon The Hill
The Renegades Mr. Hops
Don Henry As Long As I Live
Joe Higgs You Hurt My Soul
The Untouchables I Do Love You
The Renegades Big And Fine
Henry Buckley If I Am Right
The Untouchables Mackie Mackie
The Dynamites If You Did Love Me
Roland Alphonso Sounds Of Silence
Lyn Taitt and The Jets Why Am I Treated So Bad
Roland Alphonso Stranger For Durango
Henry Buckley Thank You Girl
The Tartans It’s Not Right
Eddie Perkins I’m Coming Home
Hopeton Lewis Everybody Rocking
Tomorrow’s Children Bang Bang Rock Steady
The Tartans Rolling Rolling

Listen/Download DJ Bluewater – The Merritone Hour
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DJ Prestige – Hotter Fire

Big Youth – Hotter Fire/Negusa Negast Records
Tapper Zukie – Woman Ah No Me Trouble/ Mobiliser
Success All Stars – Doctor Satan Echo Chamber/ Striker Lee
Augustus Pablo – Fat Girl/ Echo Records
Winston Groovy – Dancing Shoes/ Pioneer International
Barrington Levy – Time Hard/ Puff Records
Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse/ African Museum (Disco 45)
Marcia Griffiths – Feel Like Jumping/ High Note
Joy White – Tribulation/ Joe Gibbs International
Dennis Brown – Jah Can Do It/ Joe Gibbs International
Jackie Mittoo – Revolting Rockers/ Third World Records
Rockers All Stars – Fire Dub/ Rockers International

Listen/Download DJ Prestige – Hotter Fire
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Tony C – 45 Heaven
Queen City Soul Band-True Patron Of The Arts-Pow
Freddie Scott-I’ll Be Gone-Shout
Betty Everett-Too Hot To Hold-Veejay
Fred Hughes-I Keep Tryin’-Ex
Little Flint-Pain-Beast
Larry Williams-Boss Lovin’-Smash
Garnett Mimms-Prove It To Me-U.A
Gene Chandler-Mr Bigshot-Constellation
Otis Williams-Aint Gonna Walk Your Dog No More-Okeh
Wilson Pickett-Baby Call On Me-Double L
Moss Tolbert-Money In My Pocket-Veejay
Jimmy Ricks-Daddy Rollin’ Stone-Atco
Georgie Fame-Green Onions-Columbia
Solomon Burke-Peepin’-Atlantic
JJ Barnes-Wont You Let Me Know-Rich
Pearl Woods-Right Now-Charge
Jackie Wilson/Linda Hopkins-Say I do-Brunswick
Big Boy Myles-She’s So Fine-V.Tone
B.B.King-Heartbreaker-Bluesway
Peppermint Harris-Wait Until It Happens To You-Jewel
James Duncan-Too Hot To Hold-King
Anna King-Mamas Got A Bag Of Her Own-End
Little Oscar-Two Foot Drag-Toddlin Town
Seven Souls-Groove In-Venture
Patriza&Jimmy-Trust Your Child-ALA
Smokey Brooks-Spin Jig It-Now
Rodger Collins-Foxy Girls In Oakland-Galaxy
Al Reed-94/44/100 Pure Love-Axe
Roland Alphonso-Hip Hug Her-JJ
Eddie Holland-Gotta Have Your Love-Motown
Little Willie John-You’re Welcome To Try-V.R.C
Grady Tate-All Around The World-Skye

Listen/Download Tony C – 45 Heaven

A word from Tony: This is my third year of supplying a mix for the pledge drive and as always it is an honour and a pleasure to be asked by Larry to particiipate.Especially with the great line up of DJ’s sharing their quality tunes.”45 Heaven” is a collection of 45s ,with the exception of one LP track that I have aquired over the last year or so.I have tried to include a bit of everything that I enjoy listening to. Hope you do too.

Cheers TonyC.
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Tarik Thornton – Getting the Corners
1.Sweet Delights- Baby Be Mine – ATCO
2.Jay Rhythm- Soul Emotion- Leo
3.T.S.U. Tornados- The Goose- Atlantic
4.Syl Johnson- I Feel The Urge – Twinight
5.Dell Ingrid – Try It You’ll Like It- Ultra-Class
6.Johnnie Mae Matthews – Momma Didn’t Lie- Big Hit
7.Maurice Mckinnies and the Fabulous Champions – Sock – A – Poo Poo Pt.2 – Black & Proud
8.Count Rockin Sidney – Do You Stuff – Gold Band
9. Ernest Thomas – Soul Time- International
10.Boogie Kings- Do Em All- Pic 1
11.Bobby Rush- Let All Hang Out- Salem
12.Dennis Lee- Do The Funky Penguin- Jenmark
13.O.D. Williams – Funky Belly- Bar Bare
14.Isaac Clark- Do The Dog Funk- Miro
15.Willie Tee- Funky Funky Twist- Gatur
16.George Holmes- Panama- Carol
17.Hamilton Movement – Having A Set- Look- Out
18.Louis Villery- Black Water Gold- Soul Power
19.Jesse Green – Flip- Red Bus Tempo
20.Donald Byrd- Change- Blue Note
21 Young & Holt Unlimited – Black & White- Cotillion

Listen/Download Tarik Thornton – Getting the Corners
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DJ Prime Mundo – Prime Cuts
gene harris/the three sounds – hey girl (blue note)
melvin sparks – if you want my love (westbound)
johnnie taylor – love in the streets (stax)
jackie edwards – oh manio (direction)
rhetta hughes – sooky (tetragrammaton)
john gibbs & the unlimited sound of steel orchestra – shaft (makossa)
gabor szabo – gypsy ’66 (impulse)
jon lucien – would you believe in me (rca)
osibisa – kotoku (warner bros)
the festivals – checkin’ out (blue rock/mercury)
shall we dance – somebody’s baby (hoctor)
freddy king – funky (cotillion)
giorgio – lord releaseme (dunhill)
delegation – oh honey (state)

Listen/Download DJ Prime Mundo – Prime Cuts
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M-Fasis: ROUND TRIP TICKET: excursions into funk, soul, rock and back’…
1)Paul Revere- Beastie Boys ‘MCA R.I.P. (Def Jam)
2)Down in Black Bottom- Cannonball Adderley Quintet (Capitol)
3)Scuze Uz Y’all- Brenda & The Tabulations (Top and Bottom)
4)Mean Black Snake- J.W. Alexander (Thursh)
5)L.C. Funk- Lee Williams (Rapda)
6)Midnight Flower- The Four Tops (Dunhill)
7)Sweetback- Viola Wills (Supreme)
8)Ready or Not- Delfonics (Bell)
9)Mississippi Foxhole- Midnight Movers (Buddah)
10)You’re the Fool- Three Degrees (Roulette)
11)It’s Amazing- Johnny Taylor (Stax)
12)The Stretch- Detroit Sex Machines (Soul Track)
13)Synthetic Substitution- Melvin Bliss (Sunburst)
14)Too Hot To Hold- Tina Turner (Pompeii)
15)I’m Unconscious- Sugarcane Harris (Epic)
16)Down to the Nightclub- Tower of Power (Warner)
17)Wish you’d Never Been Born- Jodo (Decca)
18)Hard Times- Zoo (Riviera)
19)You Made Me a Believer- Ruby Andrews (Zodiac)
20)What Time It Is- General Crook (Down to Earth)
21)Light My Fire- Rhetta Hughes (Tetragrammaton)
22)El Paso County Jail- The Happenings (Jubilee)
23)And Then There Was…- Cozy Powell (RAK)
24)Utica Club Natural Carbonation Band- Natural Carbonation (RCA)
25)Vitamin C- Can (UA)
26)Keep Him- Barbara Mason (Artic)
27)You Can’t Blame Me- Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum… (Capsoul)
28)Fire and Rain- Ice (Cindri)
29)Un Sueno- Los Terricolas (Discolando)
30)Piu Nessuno Al Campo- Gli Uh! (Kansas)
31)All This- Barbara Jean English (Alithia)

Listen/Download M-Fasis – Round Trip Ticket
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Funky16Corners Presents: Greasy Spoon
The Poets – Devil’s Den Pt1 (Try Me)
Freddie Roach – Next Time You See Me (Blue Note)
David Rockingham Trio – Bee Dee (Josie)
Bill Doggett – Afternoon Jump (King)
Freddy Robinson and Tall Paul Hankins – The Buzzard (Queen)
Gene Ludwig – Mr Fink Pt2 (La Vere)
Delegates – Pigmy Pt1 (Pacific Jazz)
Johnny Hammond Smith – The Stinger (Prestige)
Hank Marr – The Greasy Spoon (Federal)
Russell Evans and the Nite Hawks – The Bold (Atco)
Timmy Thomas – Liquid Mood (Goldwax)
Charlie Nesbit Organ Trio – Triple-O-Soul (Salvador)
Groove Holmes – Groove’s Groove (Prestige)
Baby Face Willette – Roll’em Pete (Argo)
Beverly Pitts – Just Some Soul (Soul Shot)
Butch Cornell Trio – Here ‘Tis Now (Ru-Jac)
James Brown – Shades of Brown (King)
Jimmy McGriff – MG Blues (Sue)
Larry Young Jr Quartette – Groove Street Pt1 (Prestige)
Merl Saunders – I Pity the Fool (Galaxy)
Shirley Scott – Sister Sadie Pt1 (Prestige)
Tall Paul Hankins – My Boo-Ga-Loo (Pop Up)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners – The Greasy Spoon – Hammond organ 45s from the old school
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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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, June 14, 2012 11:50 am

Lonnie Mack

Listen/Download Lonnie Mack – Too Much Trouble

Greetings all.

The end of another week is here, and so is your weekly helping of soulful goodness in the form of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We take to 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 fall by the blog and grab the show (or any of the previous 100 episodes) in MP3 form.

Also, make sure you fall by on Monday when the 2012 Funky16Corners Pledge Drive/Allnighter hits. You’ll get eight new, excellent mixes from some of the finest selectors I know. You won’t want to miss it.

The tune I bring you today is something cool from the rock side of the tracks.

I don’t doubt that many among you are aware of the work of Mr Lonnie Mack, but I don’t think you imagined him doing something quite this funky.

Mack is know to most for his 1963 hits ‘Memphis’ which managed to make it into the Top 5 on the R&B and Pop charts and ‘Wham’ (which grazed the Pop Top 20).

He recorded a wide variety of blues and R&B-based covers and originals (influencing countless young guitarists), recording for Fraternity from 1963 to 1967.

Mack was also an excellent soulful vocalist, as seen in tracks like ‘Where There’s a Will There’s a Way’ and ‘Why’.

His career slowed somewhat after his early hits and he spent a lot of the 60s as a session guitarist, working on session for King/Federal artists like Freddy King and James Brown and singers like Joe Simon.

When Mack signed with Elektra records in 1968 he had been largely absent from the charts for a few years. He recorded three albums for the label over the next few years, and Elektra also reissued his early Fraternity hits on the ‘For Collectors Only’ comp.

The track I bring you today, the funky ‘Too Much Trouble’ appeared on his 1969 Elektra debut ‘Glad I’m In the Band’.

‘Too Much Trouble’ is one of those late-60s tracks that seems to have emerged from the same musical swamp as efforts by cats like Joe South and Tony Joe White, musicians who wove together elements of rock, soul, country and blues into something new and groovy.

Mack’s vocals are a little rougher/wilder than his early sides, but his guitar wails and the backing band (organ, bass and drums) are spot on.

The track was co-written by Mack’s bass player Tim Drummond, who had played in James Brown’s band.

If you can find the album grab it as is features an excellent cover of Ted Taylor’s ‘Stay Away From My Baby’ and remakes of Mack’s own ‘Why’ and a new version of ‘Memphis’.

Interestingly, during his time at Elektra, mack continued to work as a session player, playing guitar and bass on the Doors ‘Morrison Hotel’ LP (he is rumored to have played lead guitar on ‘Roadhouse Blues’) and producing Dorothy Combs Morrison’s sides for the label.

Mack spent most of the 70s recording in a country style, moving back to blues and R&B by the 80s.

He’s still playing today.

I hope you dig the tune, and that you’ll join me on Monday for the 2012 Allnighter.

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).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.